Arrow: Rise of the Vigilantes
by Dellore
Summary: My name is -Error- A man from -Error- with one goal, to save Star City. (Alternate version of Arrow Season 7 that features another person taking up the role as the copycat Green Arrow).
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references belonging to DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

Prologue

 _He runs as fast as he can, the foliage brushing up against his face, giving him no clear way to go. He runs out of the last bush and into an open field. Out of energy, he feels his legs give out, causing him to fall to the ground. He looks frantically for a place to hide, but he can hear footsteps coming up from behind him. Seeing nowhere else to hide, he starts to panic and crawl away. His fear is somewhat diminished when the figure who comes out is his step-mother, Felicity._

 _She runs towards him, trying to help him back up. "Come on William. Get up."_

 _"I can't go on."_

 _"Yes, you can." As he stands up, they can hear another set of footsteps coming from where they ran from. These steps are slower, confident, like a predator stalking it's prey, which summarizes their current predicament. Felicity shielded William. "Oliver, help us!"_

 _"Oliver Queen is not coming to save you this time." The predator comes out from the foliage, revealing the brute Ricardo Diaz, the man who ruined their chance at a normal life. He feels his anger rise. He wanted nothing more than to charge right at him, but he can't. He can do nothing but watch._

 _"Get out of here. Go!" Felicity shoves William towards the opposite direction. He wants to intervene, to protect them. But he can't. William complies and starts running._

 _"You're brave." Diaz takes out a gun from his holster and points it at Felicity. "Oliver Queen took everything from me." Diaz shoots her through her torso, right where her neural chip, which supported her spine, is located. She collapses to the ground, her breathing becoming raspy, the feeling in her legs gone. He walks up to her, pointing the gun to her head. "And now, I'm going to enjoy taking everything from him." Without hesitation, he pulls the trigger._

* * *

Oliver wakes to the sound of banging from the prison bars. He looks as though he woke up from a nightmare but keeps his breathing under control as soon as he wakes. He leans up and sits at the edge of the bed, seeing that it is only Yorke, one of the guards, making the rounds for the wake-up call.

"Morning 4587. Beautiful day." Yorke has said that phrase so much, it may as well be the prison's motto, and an ironic one at that. It's never a beautiful day. Everyday is the same.

Oliver exercises daily, keeping himself in shape, both physically and mentally. It must give him something to do both inside and outside his cell while keeping him less focused on how life in prison has been, and continues to be, a living hell.

Take mandatory showers with a bunch of inmates that either hate him or want to kill him. Probably both. Oliver just avoids eye contact and doesn't say a word so he can avoid conflict.

That doesn't stop inmates, like Sampson, who he bumps into, from taking advantage of his passiveness to taunt him. "Hey, watch it…Arrow." Oliver, despite his subtle display of anger, doesn't let Sampson's intimidation get to him. He just keeps his head down, like always.

Then there are meal times. Oliver sits at the table nobody else sits at because everyone loathed him. He doesn't mind since he wanted to keep his distance from them anyways. Turner, however, comes over to steal an extra garlic clove for himself, as always. "You weren't going to eat that, right?" His sarcasm seems to bother Oliver less, but his clenched fists show that he still has the urge to punch Turner in the face, to take down every single inmate there, as he did as the Green Arrow. An urge he has to suppress.

Finally, at the end of the day, he looks over the photo of his wife and son, who he hopes to one day reunite with and start a normal life as a family. Before he sleeps, he picks up a piece of chalk and draws a tally mark on it, counting the amount of days he hasn't gotten into trouble, hoping that he can shorten his sentence and get an early release. He then goes to his bed, Yorke calling "LIGHTS OUT," blanketing the whole prison in darkness until morning, when Oliver starts the whole day over. It is just one arduous cycle.

At least, that's what he sees. The view from his monitors is limited, but he is slowly starting to figure out how Oliver feels being in prison. _How do you do it? How do you keep yourself sane after five months?_

He can't dwell on that now. According to surveillance footage, his target is here in town. Jason Stent, a low tier criminal looking to get back to the top and a soon to be important player in what is to come for the Glades. He'll stop Stent before his influence stretches too far.

He looks at the computer monitor one more time, reminding himself of the location Stent will be at, the vantage point he will take, and his plan for Stent once he is in his custody. He then proceeds to the display mannequin, which currently wears his suit, fashioned from head to toe after the Green Arrow, with a few minor tweaks to the mask. He removes the suit from the mannequin and puts it on. He slings his quiver, which contained a variety of arrows, over his shoulder and sheathed his recurve bow onto his back. He slips on a mask with white lenses over his eyes, pulls his hood over his head, and pulls up his face mask over his mouth. He switches the HUD in his mask on, showing all the various modes are calibrated and ready for use. He then turns on his voice modulator, setting it up to have a deep, intimidating voice.

With his plan formulated and his gear checked out, he feels ready. He IS ready. He grins. "Time to go to work."


	2. Episode 1: A Vigilante's Homecoming

**Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references belonging to DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

Episode 1: A Vigilante's Homecoming

"Deals can't miss, bro. Primo price, great product." Stent walks away from the building and towards his car, assuring Medina over the phone. Stent's confidence is high, believing that nothing can stop him. He thinks that's how all criminals feel now that the Green Arrow is in prison.

"Look, I'm on my way now, oka-" Suddenly, the light behind him went out. He turned around, seeing a few sparks ignite before the light dimmed completely. _What the he-_

He then feels a sharp pain in his hand, his voice instinctually cries out, and his grip loosen, dropping his phone. He looked at it to see an arrow piercing his palm. Before he had time to try and find anyone around him, he feels his leg being pulled from the ground, throwing him face down onto the concrete pavement.

He looked at the leg that forced him to fall, seeing some kind of wire attached to his ankle. Just a few meters from his leg, he sees what appears to be… _An arrow shaft? No. No, no, no._ Out of the blue, a pair of feet landed right in front of him. He looked up at a sight he hoped wasn't true. His confidence turned to terror as he looks at the figure standing over him: a man in green leather carrying a bow. _The Green Arrow!?_

"No. It can't be you." Stent let out one last scream before something smacks him on the side of the head, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

As he got onto the rooftop, he overhears two cops coming from the precinct across from him, including one Nick Anastas. _Right on time._

"Am I handling the incident report? I'd like to make date night with Curtis for a change." It didn't take them long to see Jason Stent, wrapped in one of his rope arrows, unconscious. They looked subtly surprised, knowing what this signifies. "Go get the captain." His partner runs off back into the precinct while Anastas stays, checking Stent's vitals.

Satisfied with what he sees, he takes off and heads back to the hideout, knowing that his message will be heard, that the Green Arrow has returned.

* * *

Stent takes a sip from the coffee given to him, the taste of it even worse than the pounding in his head. He forces it down his throat, the aftertaste just as terrible. "This coffee's crap."

Anastas gives a smug smirk as he circles around Stent and the table in front of him. "I'll be sure to take it up with our barista. You ready to talk?"

"With a beat cop? I've already wasted enough time. I want to talk with your captain."

As if on cue, the door opened, revealing the precinct's current captain, Dinah Drake. She looked at Stent with an intimidating stare. "You sure about that? Because officer Anastas is a lot more patient than I am."

Stent looks at Captain Drake with a smile. It isn't every day that a woman cop shows up with, in his dirty mind, sweet curves and a pretty face. He nods and gives a lustful sigh. "A lady captain. Nice."

Dinah ignores his blatant looks and comment, looking through his record, an amused smirk forming on her face. "Well, you have quite the record of allegations. Fraud, racketeering, embezzlement."

"The keyword being allegations."

She closes the file. "Well, where there's smoke, there's fire, Mr. Stent. And in my experience, innocent men don't typically show up bound and gagged at my doorstep without reason."

Stent leans in a bit, a serious stare hiding his fear of the person he saw last night. "There's a reason all right. The Green Arrow."

Captain Drake keeps a neutral stare, seemingly not bothered by Stent's statement. "You must've hit your head a little too hard, but Oliver Queen is in prison."

"Then there's another psycho out there assaulting people with a bow and arrow." His tone comes off as a mix of both sarcasm and frustration.

"There have been no vigilantes in this city for five months."

"Then it looks like you have you work cut out for you then, don't ya?" …

* * *

… " **Now, are you gonna let me go, or do I have to sue your asses?"** His blocking motions with the dummy increase faster and harder as the conversation's ends. He already knows what her answer is most likely going to be.

" **Yeah. Just as soon as officer Anastas takes your statement."** He gives one last punch to the dummy in slight frustration, his hopes that she would've had the determination to investigate him further after seeing his record. Though, he knew the chances of that were very slim.

He didn't blame her for it. After Oliver's arrest, she and other members of team Arrow put a stop to vigilantism to honor an immunity deal between them and the FBI. Since then, they've been trying to help the city in their own ways, but it only made the city worse and set it down on a disastrous path. That's why he came here. To set things right.

He sits down in front of the computer, checking facial recognition software for anyone in Jason Stent's payroll. Since Captain Drake will not find any evidence to implicate him, he has to catch Stent in the act, or at least have the police catch him. One of these guys must know Stent's next move.

After a while of searching, the software pinged somebody matching the description of one of Stent's top men: Medina, a gun launderer rumored to be selling sidearms to people in the Glades. Taking a look at street camera footage, the man is driving a red car with a custom Star City License plate that said "I'M THE MAN." It's the same car that frequents the area under one of the major bridges, a place where there are no street cameras. _An ideal location._

He looks up a digital map of the area, marking possible vantage points where he can listen in on any conversations that can give him potential clues. He sees a building right under the bridge and across from his target's potential selling spot. If the guy is selling something, he can swing down with a grapple arrow and take him down along with his business. _Perfect._ With his plan formulated, he logged off and went to prepare for tonight's "escapade."

* * *

 _48, 49, 50._ With his usual rep of pull ups done, he hops down to catch his breath. As he starts to relax, he notices an inmate, someone he's never seen before, walking towards him. He looked smaller in comparison to the others, no scars anywhere and yet is frail. _A new arrival._

The new arrival points at Oliver. "You're…you're the Green Arrow."

Oliver becomes apprehensive, the name making him feel uncomfortable. "Wrong guy."

"No, I saw you on TV. The beard threw me off a bit, but you're definitely him." He starts to look a bit excited, but also nervous. "I'm Stanley. Big fan. 'You have failed this city.'"

Oliver is starting to get frustrated, just wanting to be alone. "Okay, but that's not who I am anymore."

Stanley turns around, looking at Brick and Sampson. "Look, I'll join whatever gang you're in. I don't care what I have to do. I-I just need your protection." Oliver started to piece together what Stanley wanted. People like Brick and Sampson can trample all over Stanley at a whim. He knows he won't last long in here without making some friends.

Regardless, Oliver is still reluctant to help. Having someone to protect means he'll get into more trouble than he needed to. "I'm not in a gang."

"Then maybe I can be your sidekick. Or your lookout or something. Please, I—" He looks at Brick and Sampson, his foot tapping and his hands shaking. "How am I supposed to survive in here?"

Oliver's patience ran thin. He just wants Stanley to go. "I don't know. Go away."

With that, Stanley walks off, his walk looking like one of a man in sorrow. Oliver couldn't help but pity him, but he can't afford a liability that may hinder his chances at seeing his family again. He just can't. He looks to Brick, who gives a smirk. Oliver has been in here long enough to know what Brick smirking meant. He's planning something.

* * *

"Remember, keep your hands high. That's your guard." Rene's students adjusted their posture as instructed, punching their bags but also being careful not to punch a hole in them…again. Rene pays more close attention to his daughter, Zoe, who is showing more proper punching technique. "Yeah, Zoe. In and out. But keep your distance."

Zoe stops punching and turns to her dad. "Isn't it bad to punch things? Ms. Lopez says going with violence is—"

"Something from the Glades." Rene knows that already. The Glades is notorious for its escalated violence and crime, especially now with no Green Arrow to protect anyone. Most people who live in the Glades now turn to a fight first, ask questions later state of mind, but Rene isn't teaching these kids to go down that path. "Besides, self-defense is not about violence. It's about being focused and disciplined to protect yourself and the ones that you love."

One of his students scoffs at him. "That's just 'cause there's no more heroes to protect us. Right?"

Before Rene could respond, Zoe called to him. "Dad, my bag's leaking." He turned to see the bag spilling out sand all over the floor.

"Nothing a little duct tape can't fix." _If we have any duct tape left from the last five times I patched it._

"This bag is gross." He didn't want to admit it, but Zoe's right. These bags are worn down from the past five months he's been using them. Technically, they've been used for years by other people. Rene can only afford the cheap stuff for now.

"Still waiting on that lottery. Besides, gross builds character." He pats the bag, trying to make it not look like a big deal. He turns to the other students. "Ten-minute break while I patch these things up."

Before Rene gets to it though, he looks towards the student who scoffed at him, noticing that he is about to leave. Rene walks over to him. "What's up with you man?"

"This class is dumb. Boxing isn't going to win a fight in the Glades, and you know it."

"Boxing isn't about winning. It's about being focused and disciplined so you don't have to fight."

"You mean like with a hockey mask?" The question caught Rene off guard, leaving him uncertain of how to respond "Come on man, everyone knows your Wild Dog after that trial. You didn't just punch people."

Rene knows what his student means. When he was wild dog, he killed what seemed like dozens of criminals. Back then, he was more careless, risking his life more than once to stop crime. All he wanted to prove was that he could be a hero, for Zoe's sake. For her to live in a safer neighborhood. A safer Star City. To prove he could be the Dad that he is now.

For Rene, that's all behind him now. "I don't do that anymore."

His student scoffs again. "Maybe you should, 'cause my family got robbed last week, and the cops don't care about us in the Glades, so it's on us to protect ourselves. Hitting these bags ain't gonna do it."

The student stormed towards the locker room, Rene not saying anything to calm him down. His mind is currently occupied with doubts. It's true that cops aren't being of much help these days, but that's because they have fewer people after they cleaned house five months ago. No one else joined the force after seeing how corrupt it once was. Then again, the Glades needed more protecting than anywhere else in Star City. No one can deny that. With all the escalating crime, people are turning to buying illegal weaponry for help.

Rene's thoughts are also focused on a certainty that worries him. That his student is going to become one of those desperate people.

* * *

His grapple arrow lifts him from the ground to the edge of the roof. He climbs over and walks to the where he can see Medina, who has set up shop and is guarded by a few other men. He turns on his detective vision, calibrated to see through walls and distinguish who is armed and who's not, and examines the surrounding area carefully. _Five hostiles, four lights, and a car trunk full of weapons. Target has a sidearm, currently on his cellphone. The rest aren't armed but can overwhelm me if cornered._

He connects his communicator and his mask wirelessly, turning them into a wireless mic that is able to hear what Medina is saying. "Sure. I can sell cheap to the Culebras no problem…Whatever you want, Mr. Stent...You got it…My man." Medina hangs up.

 _Stent. I need to get that phone. It may be my only lead to him._ He shoots a grapple arrow at the bottom of the bridge above him, locking the rope onto the back of his belt. Before he prepares another arrow though, he eyes a teenage boy walking up to Medina. _Crud. Okay, wait for civilian to clear out before swooping in._

The long-ranged mic lets him eavesdrop on the conversation. "This ain't no playground kid. Keep it moving."

The boy looked a bit nervous but refused to leave. "You sell guns, right?"Just as he thought: someone in desperate need of protection, looking to a gun launderer to provide it to him. _I'll track him down afterwards and disarm him of the gun._

Medina shrugs his shoulders. "That depends. How much money you got, little man?"

"He's not interested."A third voice catches his and everyone else's attention. This one he recognizes. The third voice walks into the meet, his appearance confirming that it is indeed Rene Ramirez. This boy must be one of his students.

The boy looks at Rene with an embittered stare. "You followed me?"

Rene looks back at the boy with a glare. "Yeah. I figured you would do something stupid, and it looks like I was right."

Medina looks at Rene, his head tilted a bit and a curious look forming on his face. "Hold on."The target points at Rene, sounding as if he saw him before, or at least heard of him. Rene pushes the boy behind him. "I know you. You're the one who dropped a dime on Oliver Queen. Uh, Crazy Dog or something like that."

Rene shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. Let's go."He turns to leave with his student, but two of Medina's men block the exit.

Rene turns back to the target, who points to his merchandise. "Well, unfortunately for you, you just saw my entire operation."What was once a sarcastic smile on the target's face has now turned into a threatening stare. "And that can't be good for anybody."

Rene turned to his student. "Get down."The student ducks down as Rene punches Medina with a straight lead. He dodges under one of the guard's punches, returning in kind with a punch of his own. He blocks a couple of punches from another guard before countering with a hook punch. The third guard kicks Rene in the gut while the fourth charges at him. Rene elbows the fourth in the stomach before he could lay a finger. He turns around, uppercutting and throwing Medina to the ground and dodges the third's round house kick before finishing off with a hook to his face.

Medina got up quickly, unholstering his sidearm and pointing at Rene, who gets restrained by a couple of the guards.

 _That's my cue._ He begins to aim his first arrow, thinking the steps he planned in his head. _First step: Shoot out lights, staggering enemies a bit with fear and keeping their focus off Rene._ He fires four of his arrows in quick succession at each lamp, catching the hostiles by surprise. _Bonus step: Light up gun arsenal with an incendiary arrow, intimidating enemies more._ He draws and activates an incendiary arrow, sending it flying towards the trunk of the car, setting it ablaze. _Now, to make my entrance._ He jumps off the building, supported by the grapple arrow. He swings himself around to face where everyone is relative to his new position and cuts the rope off at just the right time. He lands on the roof of the car with force and precision, his presence now giving the criminals a new target for them to focus on.

The guards start to run at him while Medina aims his pistol at him. His shot is interrupted by Rene, who disarms the gun and knocks him unconscious. _Target is down. Deal with stragglers before they get to close._ He knocks and looses his custom-made concussion arrows quickly, shooting three thugs in the head, rendering them unconscious. _One of them is too close. Employ low roundhouse._ He crouches down and kicks the last guard in the face, sending him to the ground.

He looks towards Rene, who looks shaken up, but unharmed. "You two alright?"

Rene nodded. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

He jumps down from the car and walks towards Medina, taking his cellphone and putting it in his pocket. "Call the police, then get off the streets. It's not safe this time of night." He aims a grapple arrow at the building he came from and fires it at the edge. Before he leaves, he looks to Rene and his student once more. "And tell your friends." He whizzes into the air, climbing onto the rooftop. Before he leaves for his hideout, he turns back to see Rene examining one of the arrows he shot. He doesn't know whether Rene doubts his intentions, but the student seems impressed. He knows one thing. After tonight, the whole city will know that a new Green Arrow is protecting Star City.

* * *

 _The rocky waves shook the boat and the heavy rain drenched his parted hair and his cleanly cut beard. These did not bother him though. His focus was on the item in his hand, the reason he came here. The treacherous weather would not deter him._

 _The captain, however, did not share this determination. "Maybe we should head back! It's not safe!"_

" _Is it impossible!?"_

" _No, not impossible! But it is not very smart!"_

" _Well, how about I add another $100 grand to the $200 I already paid you!?"_

" _Most people would pay that kind of money to stay away from here! This place must be very important to you!"_

" _It's not the place! It's the person I'm hoping to find there!" He looked out from the side of the ramp towards the front of the boat, seeing their destination only in the glimmers of lightning strikes. He made it to his destination: The island of Lian Yu._

* * *

As he eats the lunch that he got from Belly Burger, he searches the web for any changes that may have happened since his recent activities. No sooner did he find a YouTube video from the Channel 52 News network with the title "Green Arrow Returns?" He sees that it is the #1 trending video, even though it had only been posted 10 hours ago. He smirks, his message finally going public as he hoped it would.

He clicks on the video, which opens to a female news anchor, the same one since 2008. Next to her is an old sketch of the Green Arrow from when he was called the Hood. "Breaking news out of star city this morning as the D.A.'s office is set to comment on growing speculation that the vigilante known as the Green Arrow has returned. For an official statement from the district attorney, we go live to city hall."

The video then cuts to said press conference with the new DA, Laurel Lance, at the podium. The reporters bombard Laurel with questions. "Are the rumors true? Is the Green Arrow really back? Did Oliver Queen escape? Do you have any idea who's under that mask?"

Even with all these questions, Laurel keeps her composure. "We have reason to believe that a vigilante impersonating the Green Arrow is out there. While we're still pursuing leads as to the identity of this unknown assailant, we can tell you with 100% certainty that he is not Oliver Queen. This is someone new." Even for a Laurel who is a criminal from another world, as he recently discovered, she seems to play her role with a professional attitude.

"You said, 'assailant.' Does that mean city hall considers this new Green Arrow a threat to the rule of law?"

"Absolutely. Star City continues to employ a zero-tolerance policy against any and all acts of vigilantism. Anyone found committing or aiding and abetting these acts will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." She says this as though reciting a rule book to a bunch of new employees. He can tell that she doesn't fully believe in what she's saying, especially given her background.

He clicks off the video, turning to Medina's phone, which had saved messages from Stent. Going through it, he finds that Stent is going to sell his whole arsenal of weapons to a wealthy crime boss. Apparently, his actions as the Green Arrow is hurting Stent's business and is putting him into a corner. The message also says that the amount of money is going to be $400K in cryptocurrency. _That much money can help people in the Glades…and give me some money to keep my operation going._

The address is not in the message but says that it will be sent an hour before the buy goes down. With Medina in a cell and being questioned, Stent won't know that he's been compromised until it is too late _. So, I'll have to get busy while I wait._

Before he started preparing, something did cross his mind. _What if the police discover how I'm picking my targets?_

* * *

Rene steps into the precinct, seeing tons of police officers and SWAT units armed to the teeth. It looked like they're ready for a war. He walks into Dinah's office, finding her with a kevlar jacket on and checking on her pistol.

"Looking pretty crazy out there."

Dinah didn't look up, her focus still on the gun. "I wanted everyone ready the second Curtis has the location. With any luck, we can establish a perimeter and get some leeway."

"And if the vigilante shows up?"

She cocks her pistol, holstering it by her side. "Then we take him down too."

"I still don't think you should do that."

She looks up and gives a small sigh. "I though we settled this Rene."

"Look, these past few months, all I kept hearing was how scared my kids at the center were. Then this Green Arrow wannabe shows up, and they have hope again. So to me, that's worth a hell of a lot more than our immunity deal, the rule of law, whatever the hell crap Laurel said. Sometimes, people just need something to believe in."

"Right, Rene. I get it. I really do. But how do you know you can trust this guy? You don't know what his motives are and don't even know who he is."

"I know he could've let me die, but he didn't. That's good enough for me."

"Yeah? You sure he saved you or were you just not his target because there is a big, big difference."

Rene doesn't know how to answer that one. He strongly wanted to believe that the Green Arrow copycat saved him. Him and his student. But he can't make a case for it. Not with what little he knows.

Before he can think it over further, he hears his phone chime in his pocket. "Uh, hold on." He takes it out, seeing a text from- _the Green Arrow?_ The initials "G.A." do not mean anyone else he knows. He reads through the rest of the text: _Go outside of the office and I'll call you in an instant. My initials will be on your caller I.D. G.A._

"Rene? Everything okay?" Rene looks up to see Dinah looking a bit curious.

He puts on a straight face. "Uh, yeah. That's just Zoe. I need to give her a call back." He steps outside the office, the phone ringing as he was told it would. He looks at the caller I.D., confirming that it is indeed the same initials as in the text. He doesn't hesitate to answer the call.

" **Hello, Rene Ramirez."** The voice is the same as the night before: deep and almost intimidating. Over the phone, it is more profound.

Rene paces slowly outside the office, acting as if he is talking to Zoe, keeping his voice as low as he can. "How did you get this number?"

" **That's not important. What does matter is that Captain Drake is going to arrest me unless you agree to help."**

Rene became hesitant, considering what Dinah said a minute ago. "Why should I trust you?"

" **Because Captain Drake is right. There is a difference between taking out a target and saving lives. If I wanted to, I would've waited for you and your student to die, blown up that trunk full of munitions, then took down Medina. I didn't because that is not the kind of hero I aim to be. I want hope and trust in vigilantes to be restored in this city and leaving others to die is obviously not the way to go."**

With this Green Arrow's answer, Rene's decision now became clear. This guy definitely saved his life and the life of his student. He knows that what he's going to do will save more lives in the long run, probably more than Dinah and the police ever did these past five months. "Alright. What'd you want me to do?"

" **For now, go home and prepare. I'll call you when I get the address. Oh, and bring something to hide your face with in case things get hairy. See you tonight."**

With that, the call ends. Rene puts his phone away and walks back into Dinah's office. "Hey, uh, Zoe needs me back home, so I'm gonna go."

"Okay." Before Rene stepped out of the door, Dinah stops him. "Rene. I'm doing the right thing here. Trust me."

Rene doesn't turn back, breathing out a heavy sigh. "I hope you are." He starts to walk away, two things going through his mind as he left the station: the assurance that he is doing what he believes is right and the hope that things between him and Dinah don't become intense after tonight.

* * *

 _They made it safely to shore, the storm from last night replaced by the quiet, calm, and yet haunting atmosphere that crept within him. The last time he was here, his life ended, but also began anew._

 _He turned to the captain, who was getting out the supplies he needed for the trip. "If you don't hear from me in a week, I'm not coming back."_

 _The captain threw the supply bag to him. "I hope you do. You know, you pay me a lot to do stupid things."_

 _He gave a heavy sigh, annoyed by the remark. It was understandable, but the guy brought it up one too many times during the trip. He didn't shoot back, just turned and walked away, saying "Always a pleasure." The captain waved in response before preparing to go back to the boat._

 _He traveled into the forest, not having too go far before he stumbled upon his first oddity: a pile of rocks forming a grave. He thought all the graves were obliterated after the explosion years ago. He went over for a closer look, finding a piece of wood with a name on it. He kneeled down and picked it up, seeing the name "Robert Queen" written on it. Now he was even more confused. Robert Queen's grave was the first one here and, like he remembered before, all the graves were destroyed. Was this one remade? If so, then why?_

* * *

Oliver looks at the food on his tray. Even though it's different from day to day, he feels that it all tastes the same, just with a different appearance. He remembered the days when he cooked with William and Felicity, everything from omelets to cookies. It felt like a five-course meal almost every day. Now, he's in here, eating what he now considers to be colorless, tasteless meals. _What I wouldn't give for a Belly Burger right no-_

"Hey Oliver." He looks up from his food, seeing Stanley with a nervous smile on his face. "I uh…I hope I wasn't intruding on your…"

"Stanley. Go away. Sit somewhere else."

"I can't." Stanley sounds a little more desperate. "Everyone else keeps taking my food and no one bothers to sit with you. Please."

Oliver sighs. _So long as he doesn't talk to me._ Reluctantly, he gestures his hand towards the seat across from him as an invitation. Stanley smiles and sits down, eating the food quickly as if it were his last. Oliver proceeds to eat his, slowly chewing every bite, trying to find some flavor in it.

"So, you heard that there's a new Green Arrow in Star City?" Oliver sighs again. _And he's talking._ "You must be jealous, you know, with someone going around as y-"

"Look, I let you sit at this table. I didn't say you could tal-"

Suddenly, Oliver hears yelling from the crowded side of the mess hall. Two inmates are going at each other with everyone else spectating.

Stanley looks on, apparently amused. "Well, it's a good thing we're sitting over-Oliver, look out!"

Oliver turns just in time to see and dodge a tray swinging right at his face. He does not, however, see the fist and receives a blow, but shrugs it off. He quickly stands up to see both Sampson and Brick surround him.

On the other side is Turner, who grabs Stanley and pulls him away. "Sorry, but this is a personal thing. You can go play with them though."

Turner starts to drag Stanley towards the two inmates fighting. Stanley starts to hyperventilate and struggles to break free. He then looks at Oliver. "Oliver. Don't let him. Save me. Please!"

"Hey!" The inmates stop fighting and turn their attention to Turner and Stanley, so do all the spectators. "This is the guy who spilled milk on one of you. Take it out on him."

"No. I didn't do it. I swear!" Turner chucks Stanley to the inmates, who grab him and slam him to the ground. "Oliver, help! Oliver!" His cries are silenced by the fists that pummel his face to no end.

Oliver doesn't watch but turns his attention to the three men around him. Brick chuckles. "You knew we were going to do this sooner or later."

Turner takes out a shiv from his pocket. "Been waitin' a long time for this. Revenge is a bitch."

Oliver doesn't want this. He can't do this. He needs to keep up his good behavior for the hope of a lighter sentence. "We don't have to do this."

Brick chuckles again. "Oh, but we want to."

 _Okay. Diplomacy is not an option._ Before Brick and Sampson could attack, Oliver rolls on the table towards Turner's side, where there is more room for him to maneuver. Turner quickly tries to plunge the shiv into Oliver, who traps the wrist and twists the joint until Turner's palm opens up enough. He takes the shiv, grabs Turner and slams him on the table, taking him out of the fight.

Oliver's attention then turns to Brick and Sampson, who are now charging at him. He ducks down to dodge their attacks, stabbing Turner's shiv into Sampson's leg. He struggles to block both Sampson, who is still using the tray, and Brick's kicking. Finding an opening, he grabs Brick's kicking leg, holding it long enough to stand up. Ignoring the tray slamming on his back, Oliver sweeps the leg that is struggling to keep Brick up, forcing him to the ground. _Two down. One to go._

Oliver blocks Sampson's attacks, looking for an opportunity. He then parries the tray and deliver a punch to Sampson's face, giving Oliver an opportunity to crouch down and grab both of Sampson's legs, lifting them up and forcing him to the ground.

Just as Oliver is about to relax, he feels someone tugging at his shirt. He quickly grabs the shiv from Sampson's legs just before he is pushed onto one of the tables. He is flipped around and sees Turner, who punches him in the face, anger riddled all over his own. Trying to dodge every punch he can, Oliver takes the shiv in his hand and, instead of using it, slips it into Turner's pocket. By now, Oliver believes, the guards would be breaking up the fight. And he was right.

"Break it up. Break it up." Two guards stand over Oliver and Turner. They forced Turner off of Oliver, allowing him to get up and kneel down with his hands behind his back, which is the standard procedure for all inmates after a fight. Yorke walks up to them, eyeing the pocket that contained Turner's shiv.

"Well, you know the penalties of carrying a weapon, Mr. Turner." He takes out the shiv from Turner's pocket. "Take him to the hole." The guards grab Turner by the arms and drag him to the hole, one of the special prison cells that serves as a place of isolation to protect other inmates and give the guards less trouble. The amount of time spent there is up to the guards, but for Turner, it will be two weeks at most since he was caught with a weapon.

Turner, seeing his new predicament, snarls at Oliver. "You're dead Queen! When I get out, you're dead!"

Oliver sighs once more, this time with relief. With Turner out of the picture, Brick lost his best enforcers and the only equal to Oliver in this prison. Nobody will dare take on Oliver now. At least for a while.

Before he relaxes his guard completely though, he hears groans coming from where the other fight was happening. He sees Stanley, lying on the floor. Oliver can't get a good view of Stanley completely, but he can guess what the injuries are.

Yorke walks over to him and examines the damage done. "Take him to the doctor." A guard lifts Stanley up, his face now in Oliver's view. He has bruises all over his face and he showed little signs of breathing. A part of Oliver feels sympathy for Stanley and also shame. Shame that he did not at least try to protect him. Oliver knew Stanley wouldn't survive among the other inmates.

The other part, though, reminded Oliver that if he did, it meant he would see his chances of an early release never come to pass. He did what he had to so he could see William and Felicity again. He can't mess this up. Not while he's gone this long with good behavior. If that means a good person must fend for himself, then that's Stanley's loss, not his.

* * *

He spent the whole day preparing, making enough of each kind of arrow to account for every situation. He sharpened his aim, his martial arts, his acrobatics, anything that helps him pass the time until he gets the address.

It has been a few hours and still nothing on the phone about the exchange. With no activities left, he decides to just take one glimpse at how things are going at Hope Springs. Just one glimpse. He activates the AI hooked into the computer monitor. "Show me Felicity Smoke and William Qu-Clayton."

The monitor displays the apartment, Felicity just entering and placing her thumb on the security pad, assuring the system that it is not some stranger looking to rob the place. He rotates the screen to get a good look at her, seeing her carry the leftovers from her job. He chuckles a bit as he sees her with her yellow hair with pink highlights and nose ring. _I forgot she-_

"Felicity." A voice grabs her attention and his as well. Coming from the hallway next to her is William Clayton. He looks at the boy that reminds him of a time long, long past. Long before the events that are to transpire.

Felicity turned the living room lights on. "Hey. Sorry, did I wake you?"

William shook his head. "I couldn't sleep."

"Everything all right?"

 _No. Nothing's all right._ William shrugs his shoulders. "I guess."

Felicity puts a comforting arm around William, leading him to the table. "How was school today?"

"The same. It sucked." He nodded at William's statement. _That was the truth._

"Well, did you at least crush your geometry test?"

"Yeah. I just…miss my old school." _All the friends and memories that should've lasted longer._

"I miss my old job." _Right._ _She had to get that café job to provide. Was there anything good there besides the cocoa?_

"And I really, really miss your dad."

"Me too." _More than you realize._

"At least we still have each other, right?"

He begins to feel displeasure at this point. Both of them do. _For how long with all the changes happening? How much longer?_ Felicity hands the container filled with leftovers to William, probably hoping that him eating it means he agrees with her statement. He just sets it aside. _How much longer do we have to stay here for?_ "How much longer do we have to stay here for?"

Felicity's smile falls, but no completely, not wanting to show William that she too is feeling the same thing he is, that this didn't have to happen, that maybe if Oliver discovered a way to stop Diaz without resorting to the FBI, to not revealing his identity to the public, then they would be together as one, big, happy family. But that didn't happen. This is the reality, and she has to show that she still has hope for a happy ending.

She doesn't, however, have a positive answer for William. "I don't know."

He shuts off the screen, not able to take anymore of the conversation. He bows his head down, running his hands through his buzz cut hair and gives a deep sigh. _Why did she go with that? Why didn't she just say something like "It won't be soon, but we can't let that dim our spirits?" Just something hopeful instead of depressing. WHY!?"_

His thoughts are interrupted by a beep next to him, the source being Medina's phone. His eyes grow wide. _Stent texted the location._ He quickly grabbed the phone and went into the messages app, finding one new text that indeed came from Stent. He opens the text and finds one brief message with an address. _Got it. An abandoned steel manufacturing plant by the wharf. The text also says that Stent is bringing quite a few guards carrying better firepower than Medina's men did. What about the plant itself?_

He turns his computer screen back on and frantically researches the manufacturing plant in question, searching through images of both the exterior and interior. _It's a wide-open area, enough for cars. The equipment was scrapped, so there won't be any room for cover. There are, however, high beams on the ceiling I can use to take out my enemies from above. Heh. It seems grappling arrows are becoming somewhat of a theme this week. Anyways, I should have more than enough to take down the three thugs and more in case Stent gets paranoid. Okay, time to get Rene._

He puts on both masks and the hood, grabbing his bow and quiver. He taps a button on his communication device, telling Rene where to meet as he makes his way out of the hideout and towards the wharf.

* * *

From his vantage point, he can see the entire floor of the plant. He sees three cars and three tables loaded with heavy ordinances ready to be sold. Stent is there, pacing back and forth, murmuring to himself, probably wondering what's taking the buyer so long. One of the signs that he's either scared or stressed. Probably both.

Moving from Stent, he cases the rest of his environment. _Five guards spread around behind him. Probably more coming with the buyer. Seven light sources. High beams and grapple arrows are still a viable option. Otherwise, improvise._

"That's a lotta guys down there." Rene, who is wearing his signature hockey mask and blue vest, is also looking at the floor, his voice sounding a bit concerned. "You sure you don't need help with this?"

He turns to Rene and nods. "I can handle it. Just be ready with the distraction."

He then hears two large doors below him open. He leans over to see two people entering, both of them wearing the same kind of suits as Stent. One of them is carrying a small box, possibly the one containing the cryptocurrency Stent wants.

He leans back and turns to Rene. "This is it. Remember, when the police surround me, give it a few seconds and then set off the distraction. Got it?"

Rene nods. "Got it."

He turns back around to see one of the men, a bald man, shaking hands with Stent. _That must be the buyer._

Stent paces in front of the buyer with great calm, betraying his impatient demeanor from a few seconds ago. He also holds up his arm, which has a bandage on the hand where an arrow once was, as if a cast were holding it up. "This is a million dollars worth of product here. All yours for $400k."

"What's the catch?" He can't tell what the buyer is feeling, but it may be either curiousness or skepticism.

"I got burned out of the business. Decided to liquidate for my mental health."

To be sure the plan isn't for nothing, he turns on his detective vision, seeing at least a dozen cops surrounding the building. He also spots a small camera that views the exchange. _Good. Now the police have to arrest Stent._

The buyer nods to the man with the box, who proceeds to open it, revealing a small usb drive. The buyer takes the drive out of the box and presents it to Stent. "$400k of assorted crypto currencies. As requested."

 _Here we go._ He readies an arrow, aiming it at a light source.

"I do miss the old days."

Stent takes the drive. "You mean a brief case full of money. No thanks."

 _Now._ He lets the arrow loose, knocking one after another, shooting each light source until the room is nearly pitch black. He hops on the high beams, getting to the center of the floor where three guards back into a narrow pathway created by the cars. He fires three grapple arrows that attach and retract on their legs, lifting them up so they are facing the floor. He then attaches the arrows onto the beam. _Three down._

He runs across the beam, taking aim at a guard below with a concussion arrow and shoots him in the head, leaving him incapacitated. He then runs across in the opposite direction, perching above the buyer and his assistant, who are hiding behind one of the cars, not knowing where he is. The last guard is just across from them, looking frantically for any sign of movement. _Perfect._ He fires two more grapple arrows at the buyer and his assistant and jumps back from the beam, the rope and the weight of the two men swinging him over to the last guard, who looks up and aims too late, getting knocked out by a kick to the face and chest.

He releases the bow from the rope, landing on the ground. He stands up and turns around, seeing Stent trying to remove the barriers from the large doors. _And then there was one._

Stent, seeing no way to open the doors, makes a dash for the doorway next to him. He is stopped by a grapple arrow that clenches his shoulder and hurls him backward. The next thing he knew, he is seeing the world around him twist and turn as he is thrown to the ground, leaving him with agonizing pain all over his body.

He kneels over Stent, seeing the terror in his eyes, but hearing pain in his voice. "Please…I'll give you what you want."

He fishes into Stent's pockets, finding the drive given to him by the buyer. "I have what I came for." He then grabs Stent by the throat, not to the point of choking him though. "Jason Stent, you have failed this city. So, if you ever launder guns again or threaten innocent lives, if I even catch wind of you ESCAPING your cell…I will make your life a living nightmare. Do you understand!?"

"Yes, yes." Stent speaks in a more squirming voice, acting as if being choked by his hand, but more likely by fear.

That's all he needs to hear, and probably the police too, for one of the plant's lights comes on as swarms of SWAT and officers barge in. He readies his bow, not to fire an arrow but as a warning for the SCPD not to come close. He looks again at their numbers. _She must have brought the entire force here._ Among the front lines of the force is Captain Dinah Drake, firearm in hand. He stands firm, keeping his arrow aimed, trying to stall for Rene to set off the distraction.

Captain Drake takes a step forward, her gun now aimed at his head. "Drop you weapon now." He doesn't flinch. As she takes one more step, he draws the bowstring back a bit more, his fingers tightening their grip on the bow. Her men aim their guns higher and more carefully. "Don't be stupid."

 _Come on Rene. Do it already._ As she takes one more step, a couple of flash-bangs go off in front of the officers, their range not blinding him. With the distraction set off, he makes a dash for the sewer exit, jumping inside and running and fast as he can. The last thing he hears behind him is Captain Drake shouting, "Vigilante heading north!" He isn't worried. He has a head start on them already. Besides, he has to lure them away so Rene can make his getaway as well. He just needs to run as fast and as far from Rene's position as he can.

* * *

 _He had been walking through these woods the whole day, though it felt like forever. The map didn't help matters either. His frustration rose. "Come on. Where are you?"_

 _His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a noise beneath his feet, like the snapping of a mechanism. Before he could react, his leg is suddenly pulled off from the ground, flipping him upside down. Quickly, he searched his pockets and took out the survival knife he brought with him. Before he could use it, an arrow came out of nowhere and disarmed him._

 _He looked towards where the arrow came from, seeing a figure in a uniform similar in design to his, only it was red and more low tech. The face was a bit covered by his mask and hood, but he could still discern it enough to know who it was: Roy Harper._

 _he put up his hands in front of himself, motioning his attacker to stop. "Wait. I was just trying to get free."_

 _Roy didn't seem to listen or care. "You never should've come here."_

 _Seeing that he couldn't get Roy to stand down, he blocked his face from a horizontal swing from Roy's bow. When Roy came in for a second swing, he grabbed and disarmed the bow, returning with a swing of his own, hitting Roy on the side of the face hard enough for him to fall down, but not knocking him out entirely._

 _He looked frantically for any way to get himself untied. Looking up, he noticed the branch holding the rope was not very big, so it could give way with enough force. He took a deep breath, leaning as much as he could and grabbed the rope. He climbed up it a bit before pulling it with all his might, the branch breaking loose with each tug. Eventually, the branch broke completely, his body falling to the ground, the rope still attached to his leg._

 _He quickly got up just in time to dodge a forehand swing from Roy's bow. "Wait!" He then ducked under another horizontal. "I just want to talk!" Roy just kept swinging, the attacks coming so fast, he could barely dodge them in time. Eventually, Roy got a hit in, not hard enough to send him falling, but at least daze him. As he regained his composure, he looked at the rope, quickly deducing that it was long enough that he could use it without tugging on his leg, so he wouldn't trip himself and leave himself open to an attack._

 _As Roy swings another horizontal, he dodged it and quickly took the rope. As Roy prepares a backhand, he traps Roy's arm and and tied it and his neck, moved behind him and finally threw Roy to the ground. He quickly punched Roy in the face, knocking him out cold._

 _Free from danger, He took off Roy's hood and examined him. He looked old, roughed up. His hair and beard looked somewhat unkempt but at least cut. Roy must've been here for months. Maybe a couple of years. "What happened to you Roy?"_

* * *

He enters the hideout, rushing towards the computer to check on his security cameras. The various screens flicker on, showing no sign of anyone nearby, which means none of the police were able to follow him.

He then hears a blip coming from the upper corner of his screen. It's a text message from Rene which says, _"Made it out. No one followed me. Good working with you G.A. Don't hesitate to ask for help again."_ He breathes out a sigh of relief. He types on the keyboard, responding to Rene. _"Good. Keep low and stay out of trouble. G.A."_ He doesn't respond to the part about the future help. He asked for it this time because he didn't have a choice. He hopes it doesn't come to that again. This mission is his cross to bear, not anyone else's.

He plugs in the drive and searches through the contents. The important part is its sources. _It seems the sources are charities that act as fronts for organized crime. This means it won't be traced to Stent and, at the moment, doesn't count as dirty money if it looks like donations to those in need._

He splits the money up, leaving $100 grand for himself and donating the other $300,000 to various places in need of renovation, including a certain Rec Center in need of new boxing equipment. He begins the money transfer, letting himself give a bit of a smirk. This may be just one step of many, but this, at least, is a good first step.

Too exhausted to change out of his suit, he slowly walks over to the bed just across from him. He slumps down onto it, his eyelids ready to close shut for the night. But he can't sleep just yet. He unzips his suit just by a bit and reaches into his secret pocket, taking out his small bible, the object that gave him back his hope when he felt that his whole life was collapsing around him. He always takes it out when he is in prayer to remind him of how he came to his faith and that part of his mission is to keep to that faith.

Wanting to keep it short, he starts to pray, "Dear God…thank you for this victory. The one out of countless others that I will possibly face. But also, help me to remind myself why I am doing this. Please guide me so that I do not get lost in the darkness that countless others had lost themselves to. Help me focus on the mission for my sake as well as everyone else's. Amen."

He slips the book back into the pocket and finally lets himself drift off to sleep, darkness covering his vision, hoping that after this, he dreams a good dream this time. Before he lets himself completely relax, he utters one more thing to end the day, "Lights out."

* * *

Oliver looks at the photo of his wife and son, wondering how life is for them in witness protection. He knows that they were reluctant to go through with it the last time he saw them, but they had to. Diaz is still out there, probably hunting them down along with trying to take back control of the city. He couldn't risk it, especially with his identity now known to the entire world.

Just as Oliver puts the photo down, he hears moaning coming from the cell next to him. He recognizes the voice. _Stanley._ He walks to his cell bars and leans in his head as much as he can to try and see Stanley. He can only see Stanley's feet stretched out from the wall.

"Stanley. Stanley, are you okay?"

"O…Okay? Do I sound o-okay to you?" No, he didn't. His voice sounds weak, whimpering, almost as if he has given up. "Why…why didn't you help me?"

"They surrounded me. There was nothing I could do."

"You could've ag-agreed to let me be y-your sidekick. Just put me under your…protection."

"Stanley, I can't. I…" Oliver didn't know how to explain this without sounding as if he doesn't care whether Stanley got hurt or not. "I can't get myself into trouble. Otherwise, I might not get my sentence lightened and I may never see my wife and son anytime soon."

"So, you think getting wh-what you want is more important than protecting an innocent?" Oliver doesn't respond, mostly because he knew Stanley wouldn't understand, but also confused at what he meant by innocent. "I don't belong here Oliver. I was framed for a crime I didn't commit. That's…That's how bad things are in Star City. Do you…still think your life is more important than…than that of an innocent?"

Oliver doesn't say anything. He just retreats to the bed and sits there, waiting for lights out and hoping Stanley will understand overtime.

He does, however, takes a moment to contemplate what Stanley said. All his life, he believed that all people who came here were criminals, that the law was always right about who it persecuted. Especially when it came to himself. However, he thinks back to Peter Declan, who he and Laurel saved from false persecution 6 years ago. Stanley is a what if scenario. A what if scenario for Peter Declan if they had failed. Oliver now feels a sort of revelation. Without the Green Arrow, the law was not being enforced as it should've been. _I just hope this new Green Arrow is enforcing the law as much as he is working outside it._

After a minute of contemplating, he decides that he can think more about this tomorrow. It is more important that he stays rested and ready, especially after today's events. When Turner gets out, he'll need to prepare for something like it to happen again. Oliver then hears Yorke call, "Lights Out!" He closes his eyes, hoping that whatever dream he has is a different one, but also expecting that it will be the same nightmare as before.

* * *

He wakes up in a fit, his breathing becoming almost out of his control. He doesn't fight it. Rather, he lets himself hyperventilate, his body telling him to slow down until he started to breathe normally. He rubs his eyes with his hands. _Why that nightmare? Why?_

Suddenly, he hears a noise coming from his computer. It's his alarm for any drastic changes to come that require his attention. _Already?_ He gets up and walks over to the computer, clicking on the notification on the monitor. _Maybe me taking down Stent had more of an impact than I-_ His thoughts, as well as his own body freeze as he sees what is before him. His eyes go wide. Words are having trouble forming in his mouth. After a few seconds, one word comes out of him. "No." The word keeps repeating, faster and faster. "No, no, no, no."

Panic sets over him. He frantically tries to find out when this happens. Maybe it isn't too late. Maybe there's the slightest chance he can stop what is to come. _5 minutes. Plenty of time._ He rushes to get his bow and quiver, taking his means of transportation with him as well. _I've come too far. This can't happen. I won't let it._

* * *

He wakes to the banging of the cell bars. At this point, he has taught himself how to control his breathing as he starts to wake from his nightmare. He gets up and sits on the edge of the bed, seeing Yorke do the routine wake up call. "Morning 4587. Beautiful day."

* * *

Felicity wakes to the sound of her phone's alarm. She turns it off and takes a deep breath. _Another day, another coffee shift._ She leans up and sits on the edge of the bed, closes her eyes and takes a more focused breath. _You're doing this for William. You're doing this for William._ The phrase is the only thing keeping her going at this point. She has to stay strong, for the both of them.

She gets up and walks into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

* * *

The hot moisture of Oliver's daily shower is really the only event that feels calming, that makes him feel no imminent threat or danger is coming. He closes his eyes, letting the soothing steam take away yesterday's sorrows. It doesn't, however, take away the thought of the talk he and Stanley had the other night. _Maybe if people just heard that he's at least an acquaintance, maybe they can just leave him alone and then he can leave me alone. Though, that means he'll take it as an offer for protection, so that won't work._

Fully dressed, she gets out of the bathroom and takes her cellphone, the smell of fresh boiled coffee still lingering in her room. The smell should make her feel refreshed, but it only gives her slight disgust. "You'd think I'd get sick of coffee by now?" Just as she's about to exit her room, she hears a door close outside. "William?" _Why's he awake this early? It's a Saturday._

She goes outside her room, finding no one in the living room. peeking into the hallway, she sees the door to William's room…closed. _Okay. Now I'm a bit-_ she stops dead in her tracks when she notices her security give an "error" message.

"Hey Erin." She jumps at the haunting voice coming just a few meters from her. Her fears are realized. Ricardo Diaz stands there, wearing all black and a small smirk. "You're a hard woman to find."

* * *

As Oliver finishes his shower, he hears light footsteps behind him. _Wait. Other people shouldn't be coming in just ye-_

He feels sharp steel cut his back, making him wince in pain. He quickly turns around to see an inmate armed with a shiv, preparing to swing again. He ducks under it, returning with a punch to the gut and a kick to the shin. The inmate cuts his leg, but it didn't affect him as much since he knew it was coming. He proceeded to deliver a hook punch to the face and kick the inmate against the shower wall, breaking off a piece of it as well as probably breaking his skull.

* * *

"No one to save you now. It's just you and me."

Felicity backs away as he approaches, her heart pounding in her chest. She hides her fear. "I swear to God, if you hurt him-"

"You'll do what? You're gonna sick Oliver after me? Right now, he's realizing how difficult prison life is."

* * *

Oliver is pushed towards the wall by another inmate, who proceeds to punch him. He pays in kind with two elbow strikes to the face to break himself free and pushes himself away.

Oliver sees two more attackers coming his way. He kicks on away while the other goes in for a punch, which Oliver traps and counters with his own punch and throws him towards the wall he was pushed onto.

* * *

She can't escape. Diaz is blocking the only route out of the apartment. But she notices William peering from the hallway. She can give him time to escape. So, to find the perfect opportunity for William to run, she acts a bit more scared. "What the hell do you want?"

Diaz draws a gun from a barely visible holster and cocks it. "It's pretty simple, actually." Felicity flinches just a bit. If she dies, it's for William. She knows that. Diaz aims the gun towards her head. "I want Oliver to spend the rest of his life in prison knowing…I killed his wife."

Felicity smirks. "Oh, thank god. I made you monologue. Run!" As William runs out of the apartment, she throws hot water at Diaz, making him discharge his weapon. She then disarms Diaz with the kettle and charges at him, giving William time to escape.

* * *

Oliver receives a punch to the face, but he doesn't flinch. He blocks the next one, along with a kick from the other inmate. He gets kicked in the back, which pushes him. He gets pushed again towards the other inmate with the shiv. He traps the inmate's shiv hand and punches him followed with an elbow strike to the inmate behind him. With both unbalanced, he throws them to the ground and kicks the third inmate away.

* * *

Felicity pushes him to the ground and quickly grabs the poker from the fireplace, swinging it frantically at Diaz.

* * *

Oliver traps the inmate's arm, swinging him around and using him as a shield against the other inmate's punch. He throws his human shield down, disarms the other inmate's shiv, and stabs him under the arm. He then gets punched and thrown by a bulkier inmate.

* * *

She keeps flailing the poker at him, hoping she can at least scar him. Her arm begins to tire, her swings having less force. As she tries to swing again, Diaz takes the opportunity to charge at Felicity and throw her behind him, her body landing on the table, which crumbled onto the floor.

* * *

Oliver pins the bulkier inmate, delivering hooks to the face until he went down. He then engaged the last two assailants, hook punching one in the face and slamming the closest one onto the barred walls, delivering a back-hand strike, then throwing him down. Thinking he has taken them all, almost out of stamina, he relaxes himself. What he didn't expect was another inmate, bigger than the others, hooking him right in the face. He didn't have the energy to receive the force, so he goes down, dazed and out of breath.

The inmate, rather than end Oliver, just stands there. "The only reason you're still breathing is so you hear this message. Diaz found Felicity. Your wife is dead."

Oliver's fatigue is now mixed with depression and doubt. He didn't know whether to believe what he has heard or not. He doesn't refute it, nor does he lash out. He just lays there, placing his head on the floor, now facing the possibility of his family being dead, his old life dying with every second.

* * *

With her incapacitated, Diaz takes out a knife and turns to her. Her little stunt has made him angry, but he keeps it to a subtle demeanor. "You're gonna suffer for that."

He slowly walks towards her, his focus on Felicity. Finally, he gets the chance to make both of them suffer, to take away at least one thing from their lives. It feels like nothing can stop him now. He kneels down to deliver the killing blow.

Suddenly, the sound of crashing glass ahead of him gets his attention. He looks up to see someone he'd been told to expect, someone with a sense of timing similar to Oliver Queen. The new Green Arrow. _There you are._

The Green Arrow draws an arrow and fires it pinpoint at the knife, breaking the blade and forcing it from Diaz's hand. Just as Diaz is about to ready himself, The Green Arrow quickly charges in with a push kick, sending Diaz flying into a wall and proceeds to pin him there.

The Green Arrow turns to Felicity. "Go! Run!"

Felicity gets up and runs, Diaz trying to get himself free to go after her. The Green Arrow, however, head buts him and throws him to the floor.

He gets up quickly, but the Green Arrow aims at him before he gets the chance to move. "Freeze! Don't move!" His voice sounds like it is altered by a microphone. It sounds deeper, intimidating. A lot like Oliver Queen.

"So, the rumors were true. I was told you would come, but I thought I had the upper hand. Guess I was wrong on both accounts. Oh, and shame you put Stent out of business. I really needed those guns."

He takes a step, wanting to see what will happen, see what kind of man he has become. The Green Arrow draws his bowstring back further, his voice sounding more hoarse. "I said…don't… move!"

The Green Arrow's eyes are covered by some white lenses, but his stance tells Diaz everything he needed to. He stands as if with no fear. With focus, determination. Diaz recognizes that look. It's a disguise for the anger burning inside him. The hatred one standing in the presence of someone who took everything from him would feel. _A man who's gone through hell_. He thinks it's time to drop the bomb on him. "Or what? You'll shoot me? Go on. Do it."

The Green Arrow stands there, his stance unchanging, his grip on his bow and arrow still firm. After a few seconds of doing nothing, Diaz chuckles. "I knew it. Gutless. More gutless than your old man. He at least drove an arrow right in my shoulder last time I met him. Before he was arrested, of course."

He says nothing, but Diaz can see the slight flinches in his hands, the slight raise of his head. Diaz smirks. "Yeah. I know who you are…William. The things I've been told about you. A billionaire tech guy and a good, devout Catholic by day…and a vigilante by night. What's one of those commandments you people follow? Is it…'Thou shalt not kill?' You think because you only resort to punishing the wicked yet leave them alive means you're clean? You're walking on a dark road William. Once you go down that road, you never come back. You'll be one day…from becoming me. But…I can tell that you have yet to go into that abyss. The same one your father did. That I did. Unlike him, you won't have the courage to shoot one arrow at me. Won't you?"

William relaxes his arm, putting less pressure on the string, but still aims the bow at Diaz. He lowers his bow arm slowly. Diaz starts to smile. He's certain that William isn't going to use the bow now, not since he's shown his true colors. "You're wrong"

Almost immediately after saying this, he releases the arrow, which Diaz cannot register fast enough to react to. It pierces his leg, causing him to lean down out of instinct. Before he can try to defend himself, he gets kicked down. William didn't strike another blow. Rather, he removes his hood and his face mask, revealing a young yet hardened face with buzz cut hair and a full, trim beard. He then turns a notch on his eye mask, revealing blue, snaring eyes. "Remember this face, Diaz. It's the one that will haunt you wherever you go. I'll never stop hunting you down. I will see you face justice and make you pay for your crimes." He immediately put his face mask on again, his altered voice returning. "That's a promise."

Putting his hood back on, William walks back to the window he came from, pulling out some sort of button. When he presses it, some whooshing sound is heard outside, something Diaz can't identify. William then jumps down towards the street, but Diaz can't hear him hitting the ground, just another whooshing noise. Diaz gets up, limping over to the window, not finding any sign of him anywhere. _How in the hell?_

He has no time to wonder about it. He probably has only a few minutes before ARGUS comes storming in. He'll wonder about William's whereabouts later. He needs to leave. He has other plans anyways. Plans for Star City.

* * *

William kicks the chair in front of him. "How did I not see this sooner!?" He sits himself down on the edge of the table, slamming his bow down. "How could I have been so…stupid!? I just…" He lets out an uneasy sigh, curling his hands into a ball and resting his forehead on them. He takes a few breaths until he feels more centered.

"Okay, I need to stop. I've been beating myself up over this for the last half hour. I just…" He sighs again, taking a minute to clear his thoughts. He wants to say something. He needs to say something. Something he can at least put on himself. Something to help him move on.

"I was too relaxed. I thought that things would proceed their natural course. I should've been more attentive. Maybe then, I could've been more prepared. Maybe…" He uncurls his hands, letting them fall onto his legs.

"I know that the future is supposed to be unknown to mankind and only God knows what is to come, but I'm from the future for…" William stops. He goes back to what Diaz said about being told things about him. Only one person could've told him about William. He looks back up. "And so is whoever told Diaz about me."

He looks back to the monitor that displays events of the past, present, and future, all made of news clippings. "No other aberrations concerning Diaz so far, which means this is the first event our mysterious future foe tried to alter." He strokes his chin. An idea comes to his head. "The security system. That's the only way Diaz could've entered without being seen. If I can just tap into it and extract the code…"

After a few seconds of hacking into the apartment's security system, he finds the new code that disabled it. He skims through the various lines and commands. "One placeholder is common in this code, 'partners.' It's carefully worded, so it's hard to make out as a virus at first. It's made with a modern computer program, but it's not one I've ever encountered before. If I find whoever made this code, then I find Diaz's future informant."

He copy's the code into a usb so he can reference to it in the future and to isolate it from his own computer for safety purposes. He then shoots both hands in the air, looking up towards the ceiling. "Thank you, Lord almi-" he stops, his face going from a triumphant smile to horrifying realization. He forgot one person who may have been targeted in all of this. "Dad."

He quickly types on his computer, getting his A.I companion up and running and opens up his program that allows him to see the past and present relative to the time he is in and only where he placed the beacons, something that he spent a lot of time and money to create. "Show me Oliver Queen." Almost immediately, the screen forms into the inside of the Slabside Prison, showing Oliver, his Dad, in his cell. William lets out a sigh, leaning his head back. "Thank goodness."

William looks at the screen again, now examining Oliver more closely. He looks more roughed up than before, sporting a couple of bruises and a cut on his face. He's definitely been beaten up, but not killed. Oliver also looks impatient, pacing his cell as if waiting for something. Or someone. As the guard, Yorke, made his rounds, Oliver pounces on the cell bars.

"Yorke. I need to make a phone call."

Yorke turns to Oliver. "Why?"

"I have reason to believe that my family was attacked. Please let me make a phone call." While Oliver was subtle in his speech, William can tell that he's desperate. _How did he know we were…wait a minute. Diaz wanted to kill Felicity to get to Dad. To make him suffer. To make me suffer._

"You don't have phone privileges." Yorke proceeds to take out some cuffs. "But…you have a visitor."

 _A visitor? Wait a minute. Felicity. She went to visit Dad after…_ his thoughts are interrupted when his hand touches something familiar on the table. Something he has held onto for so long. He grips it and brings it into his peripheral view. The hozen. The symbol of reconnecting. The last thing Felicity gave to him before…

 _Right. She also sent me away the day after._ He begins to dwell on that event, looking at it with sadness at first. He didn't want to leave. He felt as if Felicity was leaving him. That his whole world crumbled. But, after a little while, he smirks and looks back up. _But that means I find you faster Lord._

He then hears a door opening from his screen. Apparently, a lot of time passed while he remembered being sent off. He finds Oliver in the visiting room, Felicity walking in from the other side, as William expected. She sits down and they both pick up the phones that allow them to talk with the sound proof window in between them.

"You're okay." Oliver's voice is subtle, but William can see the small smile across his father's bearded face and the glimmer in his eyes. He may be close to crying. "How's William?"

"He's fine." Felicity does not hide what she feels: shocked, scared, but glad to see Oliver. William, however, can't shake the feeling that Felicity is stretching the definition of fine. _I was terrified. Even in the old timeline._ "Are you?"

"I am now."

William feels so many emotions inside him, mixtures of happiness and sadness. Felicity never gave any details about what she and Oliver talked about. This feels so touching, yet he can't help but feel the disparity in himself. He somehow knew how this would end.

Felicity's voice cracks a bit. "I miss you."

"I love you so much."

William struggles to hold the tears back. Seeing his parents act like this just fills him with the dread of what will or might come.

"I am so sorry that I wasn't there. I should've been there." _I was Dad. I was our guardian angel. I saved her so both of us wouldn't feel despair._

"How could you have been?"

"The only reason I'm here is to keep you and William safe." _I know Dad. I know._

Felicity echos William's thoughts. "Yeah. I know."

"I need you to tell John to set the two of you up with new identities. I need-" Oliver chokes up a bit, trying to hold in the tears he wants to shed. "I need you-I need you back in the witness protection program."

"I have William set up with a boarding school in Cambridge. He leaves tomorrow." _Well, at least that part of the timeline hasn't changed._

"You're not going with him?"

"No. I'm not." William noticed a change in her tone. It sounded serious, like a dark serious, something Felicity never showed in the past. At least, not as long as he could remember.

"Felicity-"

"I'm done hiding, Oliver." Her serious tone becomes more profound. "I'm not going to be the person who doesn't fight back. Diaz broke in and all I could think about was protecting William. I tried, but I couldn't do it." William shakes his head. _You did. You did your best. Please don't say otherwise._ "If the new Green Arrow hadn't gotten there when he did-" _Don't. Don't make me relive that possibility._

"The new Green Arrow?"

"Yes." _Yeah Dad. I wish you could've seen me. Facing down Diaz. But you would've done the same thing. I know that. You're actually wishing you had._ "He did what I couldn't. Do you know what it feels like? Not being able to protect your family?"

"I have lived with that feeling every second since I stepped in here." _I do too. Now more than ever._ "Felicity, please don't-don't tempt that." His voice breaks, his sheer will to hold back his sadness waning by a margin. Felicity looks like she's going to cry. "Please, I-" he holds back his next sentence, taking a moment to regain his composure. "I am begging you to go back into witness protection."

Felicity sheds a tear, her voice almost wailing under the pressure her throat is in. "No. I won't. You don't get to decide this time Oliver." She places her fingers on the glass. "I love you Oliver, and I will…always…wait for you." Oliver places his fingers exactly where hers are, the sound proof glass being the only thing preventing them from touching each other. William, his emotions so welled up within him, places his fingers on the monitor, trying to place them on both his father's and step-mother's hands. This feels as if this is the closest he gets to show his emotions to them for a long time, even if they can't see him.

"But I can't let what happened to William and me happen again. I can't. I have to fight…back. You of all people understand that."

Yorke clears his throat, which prompts Oliver to put his phone on his chest. William can tell what this means. "Time's up, 4587."

"I-I need some more time."

"And I don't care."

Felicity struggles to get her last words out before Oliver goes. "I love-I love you."

William switches the monitor off, not wanting to see any more. He just sits there, placing his hands over his mouth like a respirator. He lets out a few short sobs, followed by uneasy breathing. Eventually, he finally lets a tear fall from his eye, not just because of what he saw, but what he knew it represented. He now knows it was that moment when it began. It was when the Felicity he knew was gone and from her, something far worse began to take root.

He takes the hand with the hozen away from his face and looks at it again. He begins to calm down, remembering Felicity's promise that they will be united again after Diaz is taken down. He will see her and his dad again. They will be united as a family. This symbol, one of reconnecting, will serve its purpose. _That's a promise._

* * *

 _Lord, I have trouble not thinking about what Diaz said to me. That once you start down the dark path, it is impossible to walk off it, that you are bound to walk into the abyss. The same abyss my father found._

Oliver wipes the tallies on the wall, not to erase them but to make his point clear. He's done trying to keep himself under control. He won't deny what he is anymore. He's now going to do whatever it takes to find the person who sent those men after him. But first, he needs to take care of one thing.

 _It's true that he's not perfect. He has hurt people, killed people. He has been through a lot, made many mistakes. He still struggles with the darkness inside him. And now, so is Felicity. And, to a certain extent, so am I._

He walks out into the courtyard, book in hand. He spies the tall inmate that attacked him and gave him the false message in the area with the exercise equipment. As he walks towards him, Sampson and Brick see him, smirks appearing on their faces.

Brick begins to approach him. "You don't look so hot there. Maybe I can help-" Without hesitation, Oliver strikes Brick in the neck with his book, followed by a smack to the face to knock him out.

"Stand down 4587." Oliver turns to Yorke, seeing every inmate looking at him, a few of them twitching in fear. "Don't be a hero."

Oliver looks back to the inmate, who gives a small smile, only giving him another reason to not follow Yorke's command. Oliver drops the book, instead opting for one of the circular barbell weights. He smacks it across the inmate's face, sending him to the floor, but still conscious. Oliver stands over him and thrusts the weight onto his chest with all his might. Still not done, he throws the weight to the side, punching the inmate with as much rage as he has left.

Feeling that he vented his anger, he steps away from the inmate and points at him. "You should've killed me." He looks on to the inmates, all of them except Stanley looking down, too afraid to look him in the eye.

 _But you have shown me and constantly remind me that what I do is a call to rise against evil, even when there is the temptation to succumb to it. Even when we are at the abyss, we find a way to walk away from it, to find redemption. So I pray that you watch over them: Oliver, Felicity, the team, all those in Star City who struggle. Struggle with the darkness or find it easy to turn to._

Oliver kneels down, putting his hands behind his head. He then looks up to the sky, feeling something he hadn't felt for five months. The feeling of how good it feels to be himself. To harness his darkness again at last.

 _Even if they don't see the light of your grace, please help them see the light of redemption and hope…especially for my father. Please let him see the light outside the walls of Slabside when the day finally comes. Amen._

* * *

 _He watched Roy get up, placing a hand on his head, no doubt suffering some pounding to the head after being punched. Roy then looked to him from across the fire he got going._

 _Roy was about to get up to fight again. "Relax. If I meant you any harm, I would've killed you or kept you tied up."_

 _Roy immediately looked around himself, seeing that none of his limbs are tied. He started to relax a bit, but still looked like he kept his guard. "Who sent you?"_

" _No one. But you knew my father."_

" _How am I supposed to know who your old man is?"_

 _He knew how to answer that. He reached into his pocket, but Roy was about to get up again. He raised his hand up. "Don't!" He got out the item quickly, stretching his arm out for Roy to see. "My father is Oliver Queen."_

 _Roy slowly got up this time, no signs of him preparing to attack. He instead looked to him in amazement. "William?" William nodded his head. Roy continued to look at him, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The truth is, William couldn't either. It had been so long since they saw each other. They had a lot of catching up to do._


	3. Episode 2: The Work of God

**Disclaimer:** Based off of characters and references that belong to DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _With my father, Oliver Queen, in jail and the rest of his team doing their own thing,_

 _I must be the one to correct the mistakes of the past by becoming someone else_

 _By becoming something else_

 _I am the new Green Arrow_

* * *

Episode 2: The Work of God

* * *

 _30, 31, 32…_ Oliver keeps track of how many push-ups he does, the only thing he can do in the hole besides count how many days he has been in here. He has found a way to keep track of time without a clock, which he developed himself during his time on Lian Yu. He feels that it has been two days since he has been down here. His time in here should be over by now.

As he pushes for 40, he hears faint footsteps, which stop at his cell door. It begins to open, revealing Yorke. _Looks like I was right._ Oliver goes from a push-up position to a crouch. He then stands up and faces Yorke.

"Vacation time's over 4587." Yorke takes out a pair of handcuffs and fastens Oliver's wrists. Oliver walks out and towards the stairs leading back up to the prison, Yorke following behind to be sure he doesn't do anything suspicious.

"You're lucky you only got two days in the hole after what you pulled. Apparently, there are people in here who still believe that you're a hero. But we know better. Don't we?"

Oliver ignores him, hoping that he can go back up top quickly not just to go back to doing his normal routine, but also to find the inmate who gave him the message and interrogate him to find out what he knows about Diaz.

Yorke, however, walked in front of Oliver and stopped him halfway down the hall. "I asked you a question inmate."

Oliver becomes irritated with Yorke. "You don't know anything about me."

"Sure, I do. I grew up with kids just like you. Rich, entitled, thought the law didn't apply to them. Yet, here you are. A criminal, just like everyone else in this place."

Yorke steps away and motions his head for Oliver to continue. Before leaving, Oliver makes one thing clear. "My family was attacked. I'll do anything to protect them." He then proceeds to the stairs, glad that the conversation is over and that he can finally start to find answers.

* * *

 _Come on Oliver. You should be out by now. Where are you?_ Stanley then hears the door open. He turns around to see Oliver walking out into the courtyard, looking a bit angry, he thinks, but it's too hard to tell. Stanley walks over to him ecstatically. "Oh, you're back. Hey, the way you beat the crap out of that Grim Reaper guy? It was awesome. His face looked like hamburger meat."

They both walked towards an empty corner where they can talk without anyone listening in on their conversation. "Where is he?"

"He's gone. The warden found out he attacked you in the showers and got sent down to level 2."

Oliver rubs his hand over his head, looking a bit frustrated, but with good reason. Level 2 is one of the most restricted levels in the prison. Nobody goes in or out willingly except the guards. "He was my only lead on Diaz."

"Don't worry. He doesn't know anything. Just got a nice payday."

Oliver looks to Stanley, a curious look subtly riddled on his face. "How do you know that?"

"I asked around."

Oliver's face goes from curious to concerned. "You should be keeping to yourself. Asking questions is going to get you killed."

"Not if you're asking for the Green Arrow. Everyone saw what you did and now they're afraid of you. And since they know we're friends, they're afraid of me."

Oliver gives a small sigh. _Okay, maybe we're not on the level of friends yet. But we will be. You'll see._ Oliver didn't seem to reject the idea though. "Alright, if that prisoner wasn't behind the attack, then who hired him?"

"The scary bald guy who hates you."

"Brick."

Stanley gives a small smile. "So, what's our plan? Beat him up? Torture him for info?" _I know plenty of ways to make him talk._

"No. We do it my way." Stanley's smile fades. _Well, that's disappointing. Soon though. Soon._

* * *

"A little more. A little more."

"You want a straw in the bottle?"

Felicity stops Curtis from pouring after filling about half the glass, most likely feeling that it is enough to get her through the night without worrying that Diaz is going to come after her again. Still, she keeps her cool, especially at Curtis' remark. "Don't judge me. Besides, A.R.G.U.S is my designated driver tonight."

She looks to John Diggle, who has offered to let her stay in the confines of A.R.G.U.S. "Indeed, and every other night until we take Diaz off the board."

"The psycho's M.I.A for five months and then he goes after Oliver and Felicity. Why now?"

 _He was most likely clouded by revenge. People like him usually are._

John just shrugs his shoulders. "Well, whatever he's up to, now we know it's personal."

"That's exactly why I put Laurel on protective detail. She's probably high on Diaz's list."

 _She did hurl him off the roof of a building._

Curtis then changes the subject. "Not that I don't enjoy listing all the ways Diaz can get to us, but should we be finding ways to get to him?"

"I've been working on that." She leans over what seems to be a tablet, probably showing them an application that she's been working on ever since she returned to Star City.

Rene is the only visible face that shows confusion. "What the heck is that thing?"

"I call it my digi-murder board - still working on the name - but it takes all the information we have on Diaz, plus searches for additional intel, and it makes predictive suggestions."

"So it's a brain that only thinks about Diaz?" Curtis nods his head "Gross, but cool."

Curtis swipes the tablet, looking at something else. "It's an electronic jammer. What is Diaz doing with tech like that?"

"Well, it's the same tech he used to bust my A.R.G.U.S security system when he attacked me."

"Well, a model this sophisticated is very hard to get."

John chimes in with another concern. "Diaz has friends."

"Which is why I made algorithms to track all his known associates, such as Cyrus Broderick and the Longbow Hunters."

"This is all great Felicity, but remember that you don't have to do it all alone, Okay? We all got your back, whatever you need."

 _Thank you for offering, even though you'll be slaving away at the police station almost all day._

"Thank- thank you, I appreciate it, but what I need is for Diaz to go down."

"There might be someone else who may be able to help."

"If you say the new Green Arrow, I'm gonna punch you in the face."

 _Of course you would, seeing as you have all the force searching relentlessly._

"You did say whatever she needed."

"There's only one Green Arrow and he's in prison."

 _I somehow knew that's what you were going to say._

"Okay, enough squabbling and murder boarding. Let's toast." Curtis puts down the tablet and he, along with everyone else, takes their glasses and raises his high. "To friends reunited, to being back home, and to bringing that son of a bitch Diaz to justice."

Felicity raises hers as well. "I'll drink to that."

Followed by John. "Cheers."

Then Captain Drake. "Here here."

 _To your reunion. But not the reunion of my family._ William watches Team Arrow drink their glasses of wine while he stands from the rooftop opposite the building they are in. He thinks about just going in there, telling them who he is, hoping that they will invite him in and let him be a part of their circle.

But he can't. Not yet. If he tells them now, they will ask questions about the future, and William knows that the more they learn about their future, the more likely they will have a bleaker one trying to prevent it. Those were the consequence the Flash faced many times stopping Weather Wizard to only have Snart cause trouble and stopping Savatar only to have to go into the Speed Force. Not to mention the Legends of Tomorrow literally broke time itself.

He can't take that risk. If he is going to reveal himself, he needs to stop Diaz first, take out the one factor that can spell trouble for the future, and he must do it on his own. Until then, he can't tell anyone.

Instead, he takes out the hozen, holding it up to eye level, remembering the promise Felicity gave to him. The promise he will ensure that is kept. _We'll be reunited soon. Soon._

* * *

 _"Felicity and Oliver, they really…really just left you?" William told Roy everything about what happened to him after he got sent away to Cambridge. Well, almost everything. There were some things he thought were best to keep to himself._

 _"Yep." William gives a small chuckle. "And my ex-girlfriend wonders why I have commitment issues."_

 _"I'm sorry about that. It's horrible."_

 _"No, it's alright. She and I broke up on good terms."_

 _"No, I mean Oliver and Felicity."_

 _William lowers his head. He felt that things didn't end well with him or his parents. He felt that they left him behind. It was for a good reason, but it made him believe that being a family again was nothing more than a dream._

 _He raised his head back up, trying to look a little optimistic. "Well, I survived." After a bit of a pause, William tries to change the subject. "How about you. What's your excuse for being here?"_

 _"Where'd you get that?" Roy looked towards the hozen in William's hand. William could tell that Roy also had secrets of his own and it was best to try not to pry any further._

 _"Felicity gave it to me. She said it was a symbol of reconnecting. I began to believe that it was impossible after what Star City went through. I tried calling her and my dad so many times. Then, after so many prayers, it began to beep. I opened it up and…" William pulled the hozen apart, lifting up the part with the screen. "I found this." Roy looked confused, either because of the small screen or the fact that the hozen could be pulled apart. "Their GPS coordinates for the island."_

 _"Why would Felicity send you to Lian Yu?"_

 _"I don't know. It's unusual, to me anyways. The last time I was here…my mother died. I still have nightmares about it. But I came anyways."_

 _"Well trust me. Looking for answers will only cause you pain." Roy began to get up. "So, if I were you, I would take that thing and throw it into the ocean. And never look back."_

 _William watched as Roy walked away, most likely to reset his traps before sunrise. He looked back to the fire and let out a sigh. "Not exactly the reunion I was hoping for." He then laid down down, hoping he can sleep, despite being in the place that was basically the staging ground for his nightmare._

* * *

William wakes to the sound of beeping from his computer. He shoots up, waking up from his nightmare. He rubs his eyes. _Thank you for waking me before the end. At least in reality, I'm not helpless._ He gets up and walks over to the computer, looking to see a notification of… _The future? Don't tell me Diaz went after Felicity again._ He clicks on the notification, which shows a different, yet much more gruesome future. "'Star City Laid Waste?' Show me the origin point."

The A.I begins to generate a satellite image of the location that the events start with, one that William recognizes. _An A.R.G.U.S offshore facility. This place doesn't have as much security as their headquarters, so it shouldn't be hard to hack into their monitor system._

After a few seconds of bypassing security measures, he gets access to all the cameras in the building. He looks at each one, not seeing anything out of the ordinary just yet. After a minute, he finds… "Wait a minute." He fast forwards the footage, looking at the woman in the lobby, seeing her curve her hand downwards so the wrist points at the computer in front of a guard who is fetching a pen for her. William zooms in on wrist and the computer it is aiming at. After increasing the resolution, he can make out what seems like… _A dart shooter. Most likely shooting a jamming dart. If that guard has access to the cameras, then she's most likely creating a bypass loop._

He then looks to the next monitor, where he sees the woman again being stopped by a guard in a hallway. Behind the guard, though, is a tall, bulky man wielding an unusual shield with three blades on the rim that he uses to stab the guard in the back. _So, she wasn't alone._

William looks at the next camera, which shows a metal door that leads into a vault. He sees the woman use some taping material to take a fingerprint off the pen the guard gave her and use it on the fingerprint scanner to open the door. _These two are professionals. They planned everything in advance. Their choice of weapons is very distinct as well as…familiar._

As they enter, three guards come in behind them. The woman shoots a dart at one of them while the man takes out the other two with his shield. They _show proficiency, experience._ One more guard comes in, aiming his gun. The man walks forward a bit, but someone else kills the guard. Another woman wearing white, walking towards the guard and stabbing him. _Strange. The way she walked, the guard should've heard her. Unless…_

"Scan those faces. Run them through the criminal database and any future news." As the A.I does this, he sees the woman in white give the other woman a key which opens one of the small lock boxes. They take out the item and walk out of the room, trying not to look conspicuous as they leave the building.

William rewinds the footage to when the item is visible. He zooms in just a bit. _Wait a minute. I know what this is. It's a high-density battery mainly used for supporting refugees during this time. They aren't public just yet, but why would they…_

"Identifications confirmed."

The A.I generates a future news post from twenty years into the future. He looks at how they look, confirming his suspicions. _I knew it. I knew I recognized them from somewhere. They're…_

* * *

"The Longbow Hunters. According to our informant, Anatoly Knyazev, they are hired by our old friend, Ricardo Diaz. At 0900 this morning, they stole a high-density battery from one of our offshore facilities. Their intention with this battery is currently unknown. These assassins are extremely dangerous, so we have to find them and shut them down. You all have your assignments."

People start to depart from the briefing room. The only ones left are John and Deputy Director Bell, who approaches him.

"Deputy Director Bell. I'm surprised to see you made it for this briefing."

"I wanted to check in, given the reappearance of Ricardo Diaz. I know you have a personal connection to him."

John always sees this aura of seriousness about Bell. His posture is firm, his stare like that of a man of authority. It is something John both respects but is also cautious about. The last time he trusted someone like that, he got framed for a war crime. Bell, however, is someone he has known for quite a while and has been commented on as a good man.

"Well, I appreciate you concern. I assure you that my priorities are in the right place." If there is one thing John learned from being in the military, A.R.G.U.S, and being a vigilante, it's to put the mission ahead of any emotions or bias.

"Diaz is a son of a bitch. But A.R.G.U.S isn't chartered for criminal investigations. That's why getting the battery is your top priority. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Director Bell leaves, leaving John with one concern on his mind. Felicity has asked countless times to help with the ongoing investigation into Diaz and the Longbow Hunters, but he always ensures her that A.R.G.U.S has it handled. Normally, he would trust Felicity to understand, but something is different about her. Something after the attack on her and William is making her more aggressive and eager to find Diaz.

He worries about what Felicity will do to get what she wants.

* * *

Laurel heads back to her office, papers in hand. _Okay. Let's see what I'm in for._

"Laurel." She doesn't look up but recognizes the voice of Dinah Drake, captain of the SCPD and, so far today, a pain to deal with. "We need to talk."

"If this is about the Conway Case, tell Anastas I need more time."

"That is not why I'm here and you know it."

Laurel looks up to Dinah for a moment, a sarcastic smile on her face. "Aw, did you miss me? That's cute."

Dinah follows Laurel into her office. "Laurel, you ditched your protective detail. Again."

"You should get you facts straight Captain. Your officers had a medical emergency. Food poisoning, I think it was?"

"Food poisoning doesn't cause momentary hearing loss and vertigo. You know what does? A sonic wave."

Laurel expresses false shock as she sits down in her chair. "Oh. Sounds serious."

"This isn't a joke Laurel. You know, John just told me that the Longbow Hunters are in Star City." Laurel pauses for a minute, her attention shifting from the papers to Dinah and her sarcastic expressions turning into foreboding intrigue. "That means Diaz isn't far behind. For all we know, he could already be in town."

Dinah leans in over Laurel's desk. "Now, I don't care if Diaz kills you, but I do care if he kills the D.A."

Laurel gives a mischievous smile, not surprised by Dinah's motivation and seeing an opportunity being presented to her. "Touching."

"He kidnapped you. He killed Quentin, who everyone thinks is your father. What a joke."

Laurel is taken somewhat aback by Dinah's statement. "Hey, I cared about him."

"Then let my officers protect you. It's what Quentin would've wanted."

Laurel doesn't want protection. She doesn't need it, as far as she's concerned. She has faced many dangers on Earth 2 and Earth 1. She isn't some damsel in distress. Besides, with police around her, she won't be able to do what she now wants to do, knowing Diaz is likely in town. "I can take care of myself."

Dinah leans away with a forced smile. Laurel expects that she will leave, defeated.

"Fine."

Instead, she sits down and grabs a newspaper from the desk. Laurel is now becoming a bit infuriated, standing up from her desk. "Isn't babysitting a bit below your pay grade?"

"Way low. But the SCPD is going to protect you, whether you like it or not."

Laurel sits back down, thinking of one last way she can get Dinah to leave. "In that case, while you're at it, get me a coffee, two sugars, no cream."

"Not going to happen." As Dinah begins to read, Laurel gives one more sarcastic smile, which quickly turns into a frown. _Getting rid of her is going to be harder than I imagined. No matter. I'll find my window, then I can find Diaz…and end him._

* * *

Oliver, after quickly eating his meal, walks over to where Brick is sitting. With him are Sampson and Turner, who got out of the hole the day before. Oliver stands over Brick, getting to the point. "Ricardo Diaz."

"This seat's taken."

Oliver grabs Brick by the arm, not wanting to be patient. "You're going to tell me where he is."

"Hey, you sure you wanna do that?" Turner's voice grabs Oliver's attention. "Still didn't get to thank you for sending me to the hole."

"I guess you don't know your place here. You may have gotten your fight back, but we're still at the top of the food chain."

Brick raises his free hand to them. "It's okay boys. Let me handle it." He pulls his arm away from Oliver's grip. "Diaz? Don't ring a bell."

Oliver sits down next to Brick. "You hired those prisoners to attack me for Diaz. So why don't you tell me how I can find him?"

"You know what your problem is Queen? You've forgotten where you are. This is prison, and your playing by the wrong rules."

"I don't have time for games, Brick."

"All I'm saying is that if you want to be a mate of mine, you've gotta prove yourself worthy of my friendship."

Oliver thinks on this for a moment. He doesn't trust Brick, nor any other prisoner here besides Stanley. But Brick does have a point. Oliver can't do things the way he did as the Green Arrow. He can't just interrogate people for the truth since guards are around and he can't get the guard's help since they don't trust any prisoners in here, not even him. This is his only option.

"What do you want?"

Brick turns his head towards Yorke, who is standing close by in case of any hassle between prisoners. "I want him gone."

Oliver isn't very surprised. Yorke isn't very liked by anyone in the prison, whether it be prisoners or guards. But he can't help but wonder why Brick needs him gone now and why not have Sampson or Turner do it?

"Why?"

"That is no concern of yours. You just take care of that guard and I'll tell you everything you need to know. Everybody wins."

Oliver looks at Brick with a glare. He doesn't want to do anything unless he knows why he is doing it. If what he does has disastrous consequences, then he will live knowing he caused all of it. Still, he doesn't have a lot of options. He sighs, hoping that this doesn't lead somewhere he didn't want to go.

"Fine."

As Oliver gets up to leave, he is stopped by Brick, who grabs him by the arm and sits him back down. "Queen. If you say anything to anybody, the deal's off."

Oliver nods and then proceeds to leave, planning how he is going to get rid of Yorke without doing anything drastic.

* * *

Curtis walks into his office, seeing Felicity on his computer. _Oh, please tell me she's not doing what I think she's doing._ "Please tell me you are not hacking A.R.G.U.S…from inside A.R.G.U.S."

"No, I am not hacking A.R.G.U.S from inside A.R.G.U.S. I am…hacking Interpol from inside A.R.G.U.S."

Curtis begins to stress out. "That is still not better and will still get me fired." Even with the possibility still running in his head, he tries to act as friendly to Felicity as possible, understanding why she is doing this. "Felicity. I really like this job."

"Yeah."

"Look, I know how badly you want to get Diaz, but you need to listen to John. A.R.G.U.S is more than capable of doing the job while we wait and eat some snacks." He takes out some leftover candy he got from the vending machine downstairs, eating a piece.

"I'm not waiting for John. That's what Oliver wanted me to do, but Diaz found me anyways."

"Okay, then maybe we can find the Longbow Hunters without committing espionage. Can I please, just for one second?" Felicity scoots over, giving Curtis a chance to help. He brings up a map of the city's power grid connected to A.R.G.U.S' servers. "Now, we know they have the battery, so they would want to test it. And doing that-"

"Would require an incredible amount of power, which would, in turn, set off a power surge-"

"Which we can pinpoint and trace to a certain location."

"Oh, I miss this. I miss working with you, I miss hacking Star City's power grid. I mean, it just feels right."

As she is done talking, the computer shows the highest surge of energy, marked by a lightning symbol. "Bingo! Huge power spike in a warehouse in PennyTown over an hour ago."

"Okay." Felicity shoots up out of her seat, walking straight for the door.

"Wait, you actually want to go there?" Curtis then realizes what he has done, his hands hovering over his head for being so foolish. "Of course you want to go there. I should've thought this through."

Felicity turns around, still heading for the door. "Look, I'm not going to engage with the Longbow Hunters. I'm just gonna grab one of your T-spheres and use that to track them back to Diaz. No Big."

"Very Big." Curtis knows Felicity isn't a fighter. Sure, she has slipped by thugs before, but that was with help. But he also knows that Felicity is determined to go through with her plan. "I'm going with you as back up."

"Well, whose going to back you up?" Felicity is right. Knowing what the Longbow Hunters can do, even he will not last five minutes fighting all of them at once. They needed one more person, someone whose not affiliated with A.R.G.U.S or the S.C.P.D. One person came to mind. "I might know a guy."

* * *

"You've been back for a week and you're already sneaking out of A.R.G.U.S behind papa Dig's back? I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks man."

Rene and Felicity fist bump, but Curtis does not share their sentiment. "Don't encourage her. She's already moved on to espionage."

"Thanks for coming with us, Rene. I know it's not the best time to be Wild Dog with the whole 25 to life thing."

"There's no Wild Dog here. You see a hockey mask anywhere? Besides, this is what we should've been doing instead of waiting for Diaz to come to us."

Curtis' T-sphere returns to him, showing no signs of life inside the warehouse. "Scan's complete. The Longbow Hunters aren't home."

"Damn. So, we can't follow them to Diaz if they aren't there to be followed."

"But we can go inside."

Felicity starts to walk towards the facility, but Curtis becomes wary. "Wait. Felicity-"

Felicity turns around. "Relax Curtis. I'm just going to place a couple of trackers on a few things. 5 minutes tops."

"You ever heard of the phrase 'famous last words?'"

Rene starts to follow her, loading his gun for whatever may be inside. "Grab your balls Curtis. We're going in."

"Their not balls. Their T-spheres."

Curtis proceeds to follow them inside, all three of them unaware of the person laying in wait, wishing that they haven't found this place just yet.

* * *

As the three of them enter, they find nothing inside. No equipment, no weapons. Felicity feels a bit uneasy. "Feels weird doing this without Oliver. And a headset."

"I'm more worried about you holding in any snarky Overwatch comments."

"Guys. Over here." Rene points to the only object of interest in the room: A locked door that most likely leads to a storage area.

"Anything worth putting a tracker on is definitely behind this door."

"Damn. I should've brought one of my lock picking spheres."

"Never bring a T-sphere to a gun fight." Rene aims his gun at the lock. Felicity and Curtis flinch, standing back and facing away from the door in case something went wrong. Rene fires, the bullet breaking off the lock, not ricocheting from the door as the two of them feared it would.

Rene opens the door, revealing what looks like an office area with regular supplies on shelves. There is also a regular computer on the main desk and a laptop on one of the side tables. "Jackpot. Let's plant the tracker and get out of here."

Felicity walks towards the laptop. "You work on that. I'll work on this."

"Wait, wait. Guys." Both of them freeze and turn to Curtis, holding up his T-sphere, which is giving a faint beep. "There's someone else in here. At least one other person coming towards us."

Rene steps towards the door, aiming his pistol. "Get behind me." Both Felicity and Curtis rush behind Rene, who is ready for whatever comes through the door. They can hear footsteps coming at a normal pace towards them. Suddenly, the steps stop just at the side of the door, most likely waiting to get the drop on them. Rene puts his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot as soon as he sees anything move.

"Put the gun down, Rene. It's only me." A familiar, deep voice calls out. At least, it's familiar to Felicity and Rene. The person finally rounds the corner, confirming that it is, in fact, the new Green Arrow. Both of them breathe sighs of relief and Rene lowers the gun.

Curtis, however, looks at the new Green Arrow with his nerves still a bit on edge. "Wow. You're…the New Green Arrow. You really got the whole look down. Except, you know, the-the face mask and white eye lenses."

"Save the nervous banter, Mr. Holt. It's getting old."

"Wait. You know who I am?"

"I know who all of you are. But that's not important."

"Yeah, what's important is why you're here and how you found us?"

"The same reason you are and the same way you found this place, Ms. Smoak."

"You don't know how we found-"

"You tapped into the city's power grid and traced the largest surge of energy over the past hour."

Felicity looks at the new Green Arrow with both amazement and concern. "Okay, you do know how we found this place."

"We're placing some trackers so the Longbow Hunters can lead us to Diaz."

"Don't bother, Rene. The only thing of importance to them is the battery. If it's not here, then they won't be coming back."

Felicity gestures to the laptop. "They left this." She goes towards it and begins to type. "If I can just find their last entry…"

"No, wait!" The new Green Arrow stretches his hand out, walking towards Felicity. "They might have set up-"

Suddenly, the laptop gives a loud beeping noise. Felicity starts to panic. "Oh frak!"

The new Green Arrow clenches his fist. "Precautions."

"The data's being erased. I triggered some sort of self-destruct."

"Move!" Green Arrow gently shoves Felicity away. He quickly takes out a USB from his pocket and plugs it into the laptop, typing frantically. "Come on, come on, come on, come on." After less than a minute of typing, the beeping stopped. The Green Arrow bows his head and sighs. "It stopped."

They all start to relax except for Felicity. "How much of it did you save?"

The Green Arrow scrolls through the entries. "These date before the heist, so I would say we saved about…80% at best."

"Well great. That means we can't find the Longbow Hunters so, in turn, we can't find Diaz."

"We can still find clues as to why Diaz wants the battery. Just hold on." The Green Arrow starts clicking on the entries, starting with the latest.

Felicity, Rene, and Curtis gather around him, looking at the screen. Curtis looks at what looks like the floor plans for the offshore site the battery was stored in. "Wait a minute. I know these plans. They're only found in A.R.G.U.S' servers, which are the most guarded thing in the world."

"Then that must mean they had a mole on the inside. Most likely they still do." The Green Arrow clicks out of the floor plans and finds another entry called "FrequencyJammer _._ " He clicks on it to find a device with a green light in the middle. "Looks like they used a frequency jammer to put the cameras on a loop."

"The same one Diaz used to break into my apartment."

The Green Arrow seemed to have sighed, but it was so subtle, no one could pick it up except for Rene, who kind of questions it, but lets it slide. "Anything on the battery?"

"Possibly this one." The Green Arrow circles the entry that said, "AdapterPlans" _._ He clicks on it, showing a 3D animation of the battery being plugged into a post. "Looks like some sort of mock demonstration. What their demonstrating, I…" The animation zooms out, showing the post to be some kind of mounted weapon, but the design doesn't look like anything of a standard quality. The weapon shoots something out of the nozzle, going down a straight line towards the animation of a few building, which immediately get destroyed upon the line's impact. All of them look in horror. "Holy crud. This is…"

"Plans for an energy weapon. Something like this can destroy all of Star City." Felicity starts to have flashbacks to when Damien Darkh launched missiles towards Star City, one of which she had to divert to Havenrock. Her fingers begin to twitch a bit. The thought of Diaz creating a weapon like this sends shivers down her spine. "I can't believe Diaz actually has the power to create something like this."

"This isn't Diaz." Green Arrow rewinds the video and points to the buildings. "These shapes are more in line with that of an enemy encampment than a city. Something A.R.G.U.S is more likely of targeting."

"Wait. No, no, no, no, no." Curtis' nerves start to rise again, leading him into denial. "A.R.G.U.S wouldn't make a harmless battery into a weapon of mass destruction. Right?" They look at Curtis as if he is oblivious. "Right?"

"Mr. Holt, you do know we are talking about the same people who created the Ghost Initiative, right?"

"That was under Amanda Waller, plus it got scrapped."

"And who kept one of the most dangerous hackers locked away and never told you guys exactly where he was when he needed to be guarded?"

Curtis wanted to say more, but he has no argument against that. Instead, he tries to change the subject. "Do we know where they're taking the battery by any chance?"

"No. That must've been the 20% that was erased."

Felicity rubs the back of her neck, her grip almost to the point of squeezing. "Then that means we're back at square one."

"Not necessarily." The three of them look at the Green Arrow with confusion. "If it's an energy weapon they're using, then they would want to test it first, somewhere outside of Star City."

Felicity snaps her fingers. "Then they must be trying to find the means to get out of Star City."

"Exactly. So-" The Green Arrow pauses, pressing something on his eye mask. "Oh crud."

Rene starts to look a bit concerned. "What is it?"

"A.R.G.U.S is here."

They all look at him curiously, especially Curtis. "How do you know that?"

"I just know. They're 1000 meters from us and gaining fast." Green Arrow takes something out from his pocket and tosses it to Felicity. She catches it, seeing that it is a small communicator. "This will help us keep in touch. When one of us finds the location, we should let each other know. And beware of who you trust in A.R.G.U.S."

The Green Arrow runs out of the room at fast speeds. Felicity tries to follow suit, wanting to ask some questions. She finds him running out the entrance they came from. She follows again, only to not find him at all. He just disappeared. Curtis and Rene catch up, showing the same surprise as she does.

Their surprise quickly turns to shock as a bunch of A.R.G.U.S vehicles show up, agents coming out with rifles aimed. In front of them is John. "Freeze!"

"No, wait! John! It's us!" John freezes in his tracks and signals his agents to stand down. He then looks at the three of them with disappointment, shaking his head as if he expected better of them. In fact, maybe he had.

* * *

"This is prison. There are tons of guys here that would love to handle Yorke. If you know what I mean."

Oliver and Stanley are once again in a corner of the courtyard, talking about how to handle Yorke and get the information they need from Brick. "Yorke is a hard-ass, but that doesn't mean he deserves to die. I just…I just need to find his pressure point."

"W.W.G.A.D."

Oliver turns to Stanley as if he just talked gibberish. "What?"

"What would Green Arrow do?"

"Oh. Well I-" He cuts himself off, remembering that he is no longer the Green Arrow. He always treated his vigilante identity as being someone else. As being something else. Seeing that someone else now has the mantle, he feels that he can't be that person anymore. Right now, he is just a prisoner trying to find information. "He'd have Overwatch gather information."

Stanley now looks confused. "What's an Overwatch?"

Oliver contemplates for a little while. Prisoners get no access to computers and there is only one he knows of that is somewhat accessible. It isn't going to be easy to use. "We need a computer."

* * *

As planned, they are in the hallway with the other prisoners, clean sheets in hand, and Yorke keeping them in line. Oliver turns to Stanley. "Now, once we get inside, we'll have at least 2 minutes before the guards spot us. You up for this?"

Stanley begins to look a bit excited. "Hell yeah. This is my first Green Arrow mission."

With that out of the way, Oliver hands Stanley his sheets and walks behind him. He then takes out a couple of broken pieces of pencil and a makeshift slingshot he made with a broken lightbulb and some rubber. He takes aim and shoots at the lightbulbs, the sudden darkness causing the prisoners to become restless and Yorke trying to keep things orderly.

Oliver and Stanley moved quickly, heading into the office next to them and towards the computer Oliver knew would be easy to access.

The computer is an older model, probably from the 80's or 90's. "Does this thing even have the internet?"

"We'll soon find out." Oliver starts typing away, seeing how difficult it will be to access it.

"Even if it does, they don't let felons serf the web."

"My wife taught me a thing or two. Sit tight." Finally gaining access, he scrolls through Slabside's records until he finds Yorke's. He clicks on it, hoping that this computer has the clearance to see it. "And we…got him."

Yorke's file appears, showing a picture of him along with all the information from before and during his work at the prison.

"So what're we looking for?"

"Anything that will give me leverage. Peter Yorke was born in 1978, joins the army at 19 and serves for 8 years, given commendations, injured in the line of duty, started working at Slabside and has been here ever since."

"He worked here for 12 years? No wonder he's such a jerk."

"He's got no complaints, got no disciplinary record. He's a jerk, but he's a law-abiding jerk."

"No one's that clean. There has to be something…" Something in the record catches Stanley's attention. "Wait, look. He's got a wife and kid." Oliver looks to where Stanley is pointing, seeing two names in both the spouse and children categories: Jenna and Noah. "I bet he'd do anything to keep them safe."

Before Oliver can comment on this, he hears the commotion dying down in the hallway. "Time to go." He quickly turns off the computer and heads into the hallway, Stanley grabbing their sheets and following suit.

* * *

 _William woke up breathing fast and heavy. He took the time to let himself slow down to a normal pace. He placed a hand on his forehead, wondering how he even got through the night without waking abruptly. He guessed experience._

 _As William got up, he could hear the faint sound of an arrow flying through the air. He grabbed a protein bar and walked to the source. He found Roy kneeling down and replacing his bow string and a tree across from him filled with arrows._

 _Roy looked up. "You're still here. Stubbornness must be hereditary."_

" _I'm the guy who spent billions of dollars developing affordable magnetic levitation and technology to allow us to look into the past. I don't give up easily."_

 _Roy got up, almost giving a smirk. There must've been something about William that he recognized. "Well, you've done well for yourself, even after all that's happened."_

" _Yeah." William didn't try to think about it. The last time he ever saw his family was when he got sent away to Cambridge. Instead, he tries to probe Roy further to find out why he came here. "You know, the first time I met you, you were with my Aunt Thea. You two were going somewhere-"_

" _Look, you're not gonna get anywhere by dredging up the past. I came here to forget about all that." William can tell that things didn't end well. He wondered why he couldn't trace Aunt Thea for so long. He always knew there was the possibility that she was either dead or just didn't want to be found._

 _Still, that wasn't the important thing at the moment. He took out the hozen from his pocket. "When Felicity gave me this, she told me it was a symbol of reconnecting. It led me here…to YOU. It can't be a coincidence."_

 _Roy takes the hozen, looking at the GPS coordinates more closely. His mouth was starting to open a bit, either from some realization or disbelief. He looked up towards William. "I know exactly what this is. Come on."_

 _He walks off, William following suit. Wherever he was going, William hoped it would lead to answers as to why he had to come here._

* * *

As William waits for his bot to boot up, he takes another look at the D.A's office. He sees Laurel leave, telling the cop guarding her door that she needs some "fresh air." He knows that's not the truth. Most likely, she is going to go hunting for Diaz.

William considers if he should interfere but sees Captain Drake enter the building just a few minutes afterwards, asking where Laurel is and quickly walking out. He assures himself that the Captain can handle the situation. Besides, the more important issue for him is A.R.G.U.S and the possible mole.

Finally, the bot turns on, crawling out of the communicator he gave to Felicity and awaiting instruction. He switches to manual control, seeing the bot's perspective through the monitor. From the surroundings, he can tell that he is currently in the office provided for Felicity.

William looks over the blueprints of the building provided to him by an old friend. _Let's see. A.R.G.U.S' servers are protected by encrypted doors on the first floor. What they won't expect is a small bot going through the ventilation system. Felicity's office is…here. The eastern section just next to Curtis' office. So her vent is to the left side. From there, I just follow the route given to me and I should be at the server room._

Controlling the bot, he uses its grapple function to hook onto the wall and zips straight for it. He then moves it into the vent before anyone can notice. Once inside, he starts to venture through the vent. From the bot's perspective, it looks like a large maze. "Okay. Make the left here. Then the right after passing two vents…"

After a few minutes of traversing through the labyrinth like ventilation, he finds the vent he is looking for, which leads downward into the server room. He shoots the grapple on the ledge, the tensile rope long enough to allow it to reach the top of one of the servers.

 _Okay. Now to place it somewhere it can connect without getting spotted._ He moves the bot to the back of the server, finding an empty port. _Perfect._ He places it over the port and switches it to hacker mode, making it plug itself in with the arms serving as connectors, the bot hacks into the system, allowing him access to nearly everything, the exception being anything from Lyla Diggle's office, which has a lot more security encryptions than the other things in the building. Still, he has the access he needed. _I'm in._

As he searches through any information stolen, he also accesses the cameras, including Felicity's and Curtis' offices, hoping they might find something before he does. He goes through the files he found, seeing who last accessed them. _There was one computer that accessed it. The username and passcode belong to one Enrique Gonzalez. He's one of the few people who are allowed access to the server's contents. Says here he has a wife and a son who's being treated for a special kind of illness. I wonder if…_

" **You blocked my computer!? What the hell John!?"** William hears Felicity yelling at John, who was talking to Curtis about something until she interrupted.

" **And…that's my cue."** Curtis hands a tablet to John, walking away as if trying to act as if there wasn't going to be any drama that will ensue.

John, however, does not show that nervousness when facing down Felicity. **"Felicity, we can no longer risk you interfering with this mission. This is not Team Arrow. This is an A.R.G.U.S operation. I am asking for your patience."** _Obviously, John didn't take Felicity going solo kindly._

" **I am out of patience John. You have your life, your family, your job. But I have lost everything, and taking down Diaz is the only way to get it back."**

" **Felicity, you can't get it back! Your old life-OUR old life-is over."** John pauses for a minute, seemingly thinking that he shouldn't be telling her this in such a overt tone. **"And bringing down Diaz isn't going to change that."**

They both just take a moment of silence. John is probably hoping that this will let Felicity slowly accept that what he says is the truth. Even William knows this. Their old life is over. They can't go back, but they can push forward. They have to.

Felicity, however, looks hurt, saddened that John thinks this way. He continues to push facts towards her. **"Oliver's gone, Felicity. And he is not coming back for a very long time. I need you to accept that."**

" **I can't. I won't. And I can't believe that you do. The old Diggle would've stopped at nothing to bring down that monster, but you're here. You're-you're here. And wouldn't even take up the Green Arrow mantle, which was the only thing Oliver asked you to do! You moved on with your life, but the last six years meant something to me. So I am going to take down Diaz, whatever it takes, even if I have to do it alone."**

Felicity storms out of the room, leaving John looking defeated. William looks on, worrying more and more about what is to come for Felicity. He shakes his head. _She can't. She won't, right?_

He immediately takes his bible from the desk, flipping through pages and pages, trying to find any reading that can help him find clarity. He stops dead at one of the first gospel readings pointed out to him, one of many that he poured hours meticulously interpreting. He reads it again, seeing if there is something he missed, some interpretation that he didn't get the first time. After reading it two times, he thinks he finally did, which gives him both revelation and concern.

* * *

Hovering from the ground by the bar, he finishes off his exercise routine with a couple of leg raises. In truth, this exercise routine, like all the others he has done since getting here, is to keep himself relaxed and focused, even now since discovering there is nothing that he can do to get rid of Yorke and get the information he needs from Brick.

Stanley doesn't seem to think this, though. "You know, just because Yorke isn't dirty doesn't mean we can't get him fired. Blackmail is basically a prerequisite for getting in here."

Oliver hops down from the bar. "I'm not about to ruin an innocent man's life."

Stanley waves his hand as if dismissing his own comment. "Not the Green Arrow way. Noted."

Oliver looks from Stanley when he notices Brick, Turner, and Sampson walking into the courtyard, Brick not looking very happy as he faces down Oliver. "I'm starting to think you've lost interest in my information."

"Yorke's clean."

"There are other ways of getting rid of somebody. Permanently."

Oliver notices the shiv in Turner's palm. He shakes his head. "It's not how I do things."

Sampson steps in. "It's not how you do things out there."

 _Going with that card again?_ "You asked me to take care of Yorke. You didn't say how."

"Well, let me make this clear." Brick looks back to Yorke, identifying the target once again, then points to the shiv in Turner's hand. "You use that to take care of Yorke, or I will."

Oliver feels as if he has a conundrum on his hands. One he'll have to sort out later. For now, he takes the shiv from Turner and walks away from them, at least telling them he will still get the job done.

* * *

Oliver holds the shiv in his hand, still contemplating on what he will do. If he does this, he will break his moral code and might set his release back farther and farther back than he needs to. On the other hand, if he doesn't, he loses vital information on Diaz and Yorke dies anyways, leaving a wife as a widow and a son without a father.

He decides there are two paths he can take. The first one is what he chooses now as the guards go around the cells for a routine check for any contraband items. He can hear his cell door being opened.

"Cell check, 4587." Oliver turns around and sees Yorke.

 _Perfect._

"You know the drill."

Oliver walks out of the cell, leaning against the bars. Yorke rummages through everything, not bothering to keep anything in its proper place. Oliver knows it will look like a mess when he is done.

"Yorke, you need to listen to me."

"No chitchat inmate."

"Someone in here wants you dead."

Yorke scoffs at Oliver's warning. "Newsflash: everyone in here wants me dead."

"Yorke, I don't care whether you quit or transfer, but whatever you do, you need to do it today. Understand?"

"Don't know what kind of game you're playing, but if you don't knock it off, I promise, you'll regret it."

"I'm not trying to play a game. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't need your help, inmate."

"I'm just trying to do the right thing."

Oliver doesn't hear Yorke rummaging through anything more. He hears footsteps coming towards him, followed by the sight of a slightly angered Yorke. "The right thing? Is that what you were doing, running around in that costume? You turned the law into a joke. The Green Arrow's very existence invited criminals into your city." Yorke grabs Oliver by the arm and pulls him away from the bars and back into his cell. "You think you're some kind of hero. But have you ever stopped to think that all you've done was make things worse?"

Yorke leaves to check Stanley's cell next. Oliver gives a sigh of disappointment. Yorke has shown that he will not budge, even when his life depends on it. There is only one option available to him now. One he is not comfortable with.

* * *

Felicity scrolls through the tablet, looking through the files the Green Arrow found on the laptop for any clues as to where Diaz may have taken the battery. So far, she hasn't found anything, making her even more desperate. _I must've gone through these three times. Maybe if I-_

"Hey." She hears the voice of John, who is standing at the doorway of her temporary office. "Can we talk?"

"Not unless it's about Diaz."

John says nothing, telling Felicity that it has nothing to do with Diaz at all. So, she turns back to the tablet. She can hear John walking in and taking a deep breath, also telling her that this conversation is going to happen whether she wants it to or not.

"Felicity, I want you to know that I understand why you're angry. But I have not forgotten Oliver or this team. Or you. But I need you to hear why I chose not to become the Green Arrow."

Felicity puts down the tablet and turns to John, allowing him to explain himself.

"Felicity, I watched as you, Oliver, and William lost everything important in your life because of that hood. And I wanted to. I wanted to because Oliver asked me to. But I couldn't. The truth is…I saw what that hood did to you and your family. And I couldn't do it to mine. Maybe that was selfish…but I couldn't make that kind of sacrifice, and I couldn't ask that of Lyla or A.J."

Felicity, after hearing this, now feels like almost everything she said to John was now an insult. She feels so stupid for essentially calling him a coward without knowing the implications. "It's not selfish."

"I'd like to think that I am honoring Oliver's mission without putting on the suit on."

"I respect your decision, that you want to keep fighting. Oliver turned himself in so the FBI would help us stop Diaz. And I may not agree to the decision, but so long as Diaz is still out there, Oliver's sacrifice will have been for nothing."

" **Felicity, John. Can you hear me?"** Felicity turns to the voice coming from behind her, seeing only the communicator on her desk. _Oh God. Why do you have the worse sense of timing?_

"Whose voice is that?"

Felicity turns to John with a nervous grin. "Oh. Well, that's uh-"

" **This is the Green Arrow, John, and I don't have much time before someone eventually escapes. There's a mole inside A.R.G.U.S. Someone who gave Diaz and the Longbow Hunters the files on the battery and the offshore facility."**

They gather around the communicator, Felicity now feeling stupid again. _I completely forgot about the mole._ "Wouldn't the mole be gone by now?"

" **Not sure. But I do know who accessed them. A man named Enrique Gonzalez. If he's in the building, you need to stop him now."**

"Wait, wait, wait. Are we really going to trust this copycat?"

"John, he helped us stop the laptop from destroying the data completely. I'm pretty sure that means he's on our side."

"That was him?"

" **Yes, that was me. Now find Gonzalez."**

"I just saw him as I was walking in here. He's the office next to this…" John's eyes widen. "He had his door open." He rushes out of the office and runs back in just as fast. "He's gone."

Felicity clenches her fists. "Dammit."

 **"Get to the front entrance. He's most likely on his way there, but don't cut him off. Just be ready if he gets spooked. See you in a few.** "

The communicator goes silent. John crosses his arms and looks at it. "I don't get it. Why would he want…oh God."

"What?"

"The Green Arrow's already here."

With that confirmation, both Felicity and John rush out of the office and towards the nearest set of stairs, hoping they can get to Gonzalez before the Green Arrow does.

* * *

William perches himself over the entrance to the building, waiting for the target to arrive. With his detective vision, he sees through the walls of the building, seeing if anyone is coming out. So far, he can only see the blue silhouettes of the receptionist and the two guards standing next to the scanners.

After half a minute, though, he sees one person exiting an elevator, looking like he is quickly walking towards the exit. _This has to be him._ When he gets past the scanners, William sees two more people exiting from the stairway at the back of the room, one of them pointing at the man, causing him to dash for it. _Definitely him._

William preps his bow and aims a grapple arrow, account for Gonzalez's speed. As he sees Gonzalez rushing out the door, he fires the arrow, which manages to clench at the lower part of his back and reel him in with intense speed. _Thank you, math._

As Gonzalez comes in screaming for his life, William grabs him and throws him to the ground. He then walks over to Gonzalez, who is trembling in fear of his presence.

As seen in his picture, Gonzalez has greenish blue eyes, somewhat fair complexion, and a bald spot, the slight singes indicating that it was the result of fire, which is in line with his record stating that he was a volunteer firefighter before being hired by A.R.G.U.S. He is obviously scared, but tries to play it off as nervousness.

"Y-You know, don't you?" _A Hispanic accent. Moved from his home country of Spain recently._ "Listen, I can explain-"

"I know Diaz blackmailed you. You're no criminal, Mr. Gonzalez, but A.R.G.U.S won't think the same way. Tell me what you know, then maybe I can persuade John Diggle to go easy on you."

"I-I don't know much. I swear. He called me at home, said he had powerful friends. Friends that can cut off my health insurance. My son needs that to live. What was I supposed to do?"

"Where is he taking the battery?"

"He didn't tell me, but I once overheard some background mumbling about prepping a train. That's probably where it is."

"Good. If you truly value their lives, have your wife and son moved to a more secure location, or Diaz will kill them anyways."

Douglas nods his head. "Okay. I will."

William can hear movement coming from across his position. He looks up and sees John, Felicity, and other agents rushing towards him. They stop and aim weapons at him.

"Don't move!"

"John, wait!" Felicity moves in front of John, blocking his shot. She then turns to William. "What did he tell you?"

"Gonzalez says the battery is being transported by train. Most likely Diaz will be there with it."

"How can we…hold on." John taps on his ear. "Yeah. You did? Are you sure? All right." He looks at William with a more neutral stare apart from the glare he was showing when aiming at William. "That was Curtis. He said he restored some of the data found in the laptop. He found schematics for a train, one that just left Star City a minute ago and is heading to an off-site facility with an energy weapon for testing."

"Then I don't have much time." William reaches into his quiver and takes out a grapple arrow, but the agents and John point their weapons at him.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to catch that train."

"This is an A.R.G.U.S operation. Let…let us help you. You cooperate, we won't hand you in."

"They're most likely prepared for you, not for me. If you go on that train, you'll most likely die."

"Maybe. But I have a friend who wanted me to save this city, and I'll be damned if you think I won't honor his request. Besides, one of us has a shot at getting the battery if the other goes. You can't do this alone"

William gives a frustrated sigh. _Of course he uses the "honoring a request card," and Dad's at that. And the "you can't do it alone," card. I've been doing this alone for so long. How is this getting harder to do?"_ He turns to John. "Fine. But after this, I'm getting the battery because there is no chance I'm letting you use it as a weapon. And you give Gonzalez another chance. Demote him or transfer him if you must but let him continue to work for you so he can support his family. Finally, you let Felicity help with this one. We need reconnaissance for this and she is one of the only ones I trust to help. Take this deal or leave it, John."

John gives a bit of a sigh of his own, but it is subtle. He knows he may get in trouble for taking a deal like this, but he can't risk Diaz getting away by arguing any further with a vigilante. "Done. And don't call me John. We're not friends and we never will be."

William walks towards the group, who are now lowering their weapons. He shakes hands with John to seal their agreement. "Mr. Diggle it is, then."

He walks to the exit of the roof with an amused grin. He remembers a time where Mr. Diggle wanted William to call him John. It was when William, Oliver, and Felicity visited him in the hospital after a chip that was supposed to help get rid of a tremor in his arm went wrong. He always thought of it as just a small formality, a friendly gesture. Seeing as John does not know who is under the mask, William won't get that formality here and may never get it for a while. But that is fine with him, so long as his presence doesn't mess with their lives anymore than it is now.

* * *

Dinah slowly approaches the building, gun out at the ready. This is where she tracked Laurel, but there is no sign of her anywhere, at least not outside. She prepares to go inside.

"Hey." Dinah quickly turns around. She sees that it is only Laurel, now wearing biker styled clothing with a black leather jacket, shirt, and pants. This is usually how she dresses when she goes as the Black Siren. "What're you doing here?"

Dinah puts her gun at her side. "You know, I should be asking you the same question."

"How did you find me?"

"Well, I am a cop, Laurel." They both start to walk towards the building, Dinah readying her gun again. "What is this place?"

"Diaz bought it right after joining the Quadrant. Wanted to renovate, turn it into his own castle."

"So, you think he's in there?"

"I don't think he's welcome in Star City Plaza."

They stop just short of the stairs that lead to the entrance. "Fine. Call it in then."

"No. No, this is my fight."

Dinah's short confusion fades as she pieces together everything. "Oh." She lets out a short, amused chuckle. She expected something like this from Laurel. "Right. This is what you've been planning all along, isn't it? This is why you've been refusing protection. You're going to kill him."

"Let's hope so."

"If Diaz is in this building, the SCPD are going to be the ones to bring him down, and we're going to do it the right way."

"I'm not interested in doing things the right way. That monster killed Quentin. I want to see him in hell, and I want to be the one who sends him there myself."

Dinah's amused smile doesn't fade, but it now hides a subtle anger building up inside her. "You know, I knew you were faking it this whole time Laurel. Becoming the D.A, all your B.S talk about the rule of law. Deep down, you're still the same lying murderer who killed the man I loved."

"I'm not that person anymore. But someone has to get justice for Quentin, and you know it. So, don't you try to stop me."

Laurel heads up the stairs and enters the building, leaving Dinah with a dilemma on her hands. She knows that the right thing to do is to call in backup, but by the time they got here, Laurel may have already killed Diaz or vice versa. Laurel is right. Quentin's death does deserve recompense, but not through murder.

Feeling like she is going to regret the decision she is going to make, she cocks her gun and runs in after Laurel, hoping that she is not too late to stop her from making a mistake.

* * *

John, his team, and the Green Arrow stand on the edge of a cliff overlooking the train tracks that the train transporting the battery is traveling by. "Alpha Team's in position. Sit-rep?"

" **Your train's right on schedule. 60 seconds before the first car reaches your position."**

"Copy that. Overwatch, you ready for this?"

" **Oh, I've been ready for five months."**

John turns to the Green Arrow, who is checking his quiver and tuning his bowstring. "And you?"

"Ready." He looks up from the quiver to John. "Tell me, Mr. Diggle. Why exactly did you say you wanted to help me with this? You did say A.R.G.U.S is capable of handling this. Or is that what you tell yourself to justify leaving your vigilante persona?"

John looks at him with surprise. _How does he-_ He decides not to dwell on it, not with a mission at hand. "You would've gone for the battery anyways. I can't afford a liability. And to be clear, A.R.G.U.S IS more than capable."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Diggle."

"And it is AGENT Diggle."

The Green Arrow puts up his hands in respect. "Whatever you say."

A noise in the distance gets John's attention. He sees lights coming down the tracks. "That's our train. Move out."

The Green Arrow is the first to spring into action, slinging his quiver over his shoulder and grasping his bow. "Let's get to it, Spartan." Before John can correct him again, he jumps down and slides along the cliff's side. Annoyed as John is, he lets it pass. He has a mission to do and a score to settle. He jumps down as well, the other agents following close behind him.

* * *

William makes it into the train car, followed by the other agents and John. So far, they came in unnoticed, but that doesn't mean Diaz isn't prepared for them.

As John steps inside, the automatic doors close. _There's no going back from this now_.

"Overwatch, we're on the train."

" **Copy that. We're logged into the train management system, so I am now the brain of the train."**

"Where's the weapon?"

" **In the fourth car from the back."**

They start to proceed out of the car towards the location of the weapon. "Any sign of the Longbow Hunters, Miss Smoke?"

" **Not yet. You're coming up on the Bater Tunnel. We'll have a snapshot from the thermal imaging camera in about 30 seconds."**

"Hold on. Let me see if I can scan the area." William turns on his detective vision, only to find that he can't see any targets ahead, or anything for that matter except a jamming signal. "Crud. They're using a jamming device. I can't see what's up ahead."

"Alright. Everyone, proceed with caution." John takes the lead, the other agents and William right behind him, weapons at the ready. They make it into the first car, still no sign of Diaz or the Longbow Hunters.

As they make it halfway down the empty corridor, Felicity chimes in. **"John, we got two boggies, both in the baggage car in front of you."**

"Where's the other one?"

"There should be three of them."

" **Oh my God. Guys, he's right above you!"**

Suddenly, part of the roof above William exploded. He rolls out of the way before someone jumps down in front of him. Looking up, he sees the brute of the Longbow Hunters in front of him. _Bear._ He wields the shield with three blades attached to the rim, just as he did in the footage. He smirks, probably thinking that this will be fun for him.

William, acting fast, takes out and shoots a smoke arrow right at Bear's feet, keeping him stunned for a moment. He quickly turns to John. "Go. Get the weapon."

"We're not leaving you here."

"Just go!"

John is a bit hesitant at first but dashes out the door with the other agents. William turns back around, seeing Bear walk towards him, a stare of anger and focus on his face. William switches his bow from his left hand to his right, readying himself for the fight.

 _Bear is different than his future counterpart. He's in his prime, not enhanced by any physical drugs. From what I can see, he's still the same brute, probably not as much of a tank, but can take several hits. I need to test him before I can form a strategy._

Bear comes in with a hook with his shield which William ducks under and follows up with a horizontal swing to the face. Bear, who looks unaffected by the hit, proceeds with a backhand swing of his own. William dodges again, this time rolling past Bear. Now behind him, William quickly turns and swings at the leg.

Bear turns and swings his shield downward. William rolls back, missing the shield just barely. He takes a concussion arrow from his quiver and fires it, only for Bear to quickly raise his shield and deflect it. William quickly gets up.

 _So far, Bear exhibits great resistance to physical pain, just like his future self. Normal strikes won't work. He puts power into his strikes, making him somewhat slow to react to other swings, but his resistance makes up for it. How are his defenses though?_

This time, William strikes first, striking with forehand and backhand, horizontal and cross, fluidly going from one strike to another as fast as he can. Bear blocks each one, demonstrating quick reflexes and awareness. When William goes for a spinning backhand, Bear parry's it instead. With William open and unbalanced, Bear goes in for a push kick, sending him flying, falling just near one of the doors. William recovers quickly, rolling just as he hits the ground and stands up.

 _His defenses are good, but just like in the future, he seems to favor the push kick. Seems like the only thing that can keep him down is a broken leg. If he's anything like his future self, he can easily be baited into another push kick. Once he does, I can grab it and force him to the ground._

Bear charges at him, his shield raised for another strike. William readies himself once again, his strategy now in place and ready to be executed.

* * *

John and the other agents rush towards the next door when suddenly, a small dart flies in front of John's face. He looks in the direction of the dart's trajectory, seeing the second Longbow Hunter, the woman who disguised as an potential employee and who used a dart to put the security guard's computer on a loop.

"Hello there."

A few holes open up around the dart, dispersing something into the air. John catches a whiff of it, recognizing the substance almost immediately as it makes him cough uncontrollably and his lungs to weaken.

"It's gas!"

All the other agents start to cough, falling to the ground one by one. The woman shoots one more dart at the electronic lock, the red light now shining in the place of the green below it.

"Oops. Guess it's locked." She gives a sly smile before leaving in the direction of her other member, who is probably still fighting the Green Arrow.

John struggles to keep himself up, but the gas is becoming too much for him. "Overwatch, we're trapped."

" **Already on it. Hang on John."**

John slumps onto a crate, sitting on the floor as the gas slowly takes hold, making his vision blurry and his hearing muffled. He can somewhat hear a knocking across from him. Looking up, he sees Diaz, waving at him with a sinister smile.

"Diaz."

" **Diaz is there?"**

" **Felicity!"**

" **Sorry. On it…got it."**

The door opens. John doesn't hesitate to get out as quickly as he can. He breathes in the fresh air, letting it fill his lungs and filter out the gas. The others, however, do not make it. He sees their bodies lying there, not moving. He takes a moment to grieve, to think that the Green Arrow was right. Diaz prepared for this. He knew A.R.G.U.S was coming. John took what was sound advice and ignored it, leading others to their demise.

But now is not the time to regret. He needed to move on. He needed to stop Diaz from unleashing an energy weapon onto Star City. He will not let his men's deaths be in vain. He takes out his pistol and moves in to take down Diaz.

* * *

Laurel slowly walks into one of the rooms, seeing nothing but equipment covered in bags and barely functional lights. She walks further on, her guard up for anything that may come. As she takes one more step, she starts to realize that she can't hear her step, nor can she hear the flickering of the lightbulb next to her. This can only mean one thing. _Trouble._

Laurel quickly turns around, seeing a woman dressed in a white outfit right in front of her. She quickly uses her siren scream to push her out of the way. Strangely, this has no effect on the woman, for she is still standing there with a bubble of some kind in front of her that fades after Laurel stops screaming.

The woman immediately swings her knife at Laurel, which she avoids easily. After a third swing, the woman follows up with a spin kick that Laurel is unable to dodge fast enough, leaving her disoriented on the ground. Laurel quickly gets up in time to dodge an overhead strike. She quickly goes for a large steel pipe that feels light enough to use.

Laurel swings the pipe at the woman, flowing from deflecting the knife and attacking the woman when she has the ability to do so. The woman grabs the pipe and tries to wrestle it from Laurel's grip, but she pulls it away quickly to attack again. At times, the woman grabs the pipe and moves it away to create an opening, but Laurel even dodges that.

While they fight, Laurel does notice that the strikes do not make much noise as they make impact. They sound as if they are being muffled, by what she doesn't know. But she does know that it means no one else will be able to hear anything outside the room. She also knows it's only a matter of time before Dinah finds her.

* * *

William dodges another swing from Bear's shield and tries to go for an overhead strike. Bear grabs the bow however and goes for a hook with his shield. William quickly ducks, but is unable to free his bow, forcing him to let it go before the shield cut his arm.

 _He's not going for the bait. He's smarter than he is from the future. Guess my only option is to go for it now while he's recovering from his attack._ William immediately goes in for the leg, pushing against it as hard as he can. Bear starts to walk backward until he starts to loose balance, causing him to trip. As he does, William quickly wraps his arms around his leg, gripping the ankle as he hits the ground.

Just as William is about to twist the ankle, the door across from them opens, revealing the second Longbow Hunter. _Red Dart._ She quickly shoots a dart from her wrist shooter at William, which he easily avoids. The dart, however, emits a blinding light, causing William to see nothing but light and loosen his grip on Bear's leg. He suddenly feels something, most likely Bear's now free leg, sweep under his feet and force him to the ground. Feeling somewhat dazed, he sluggishly retreats to the other side of the car.

As his vision starts to come back, he sees Bear walking towards him and outstretching his hand in an attempt to grab him by the neck. Thinking fast, he takes out and throws one of his arrowheads at Bear's leg, giving him just a wince of pain. He takes advantage of this by grabbing Bear's hand and twisting it, leaving one limb out of use.

William gets up and sees his bow where he pinned down Bear. As Red Dart shoots another projectile, he dives for it and quickly shoots an arrow right next to Red Dart, which disperses smoke, leaving her temporarily stunned. He quickly gets up and kicks Bear in the face, hoping this will force him to stay down. He then dashes at Red Dart, who tries to aim her wrist shooter, but William grabs the wrist and elbows her across the face, which knocks her out instantly. _I guess you were always a glass cannon._

William takes some time to catch his breath, seeing Bear just barely conscious, but struggling to recover from the possible headache from William's kick. _This would've been easier if I had my suit. But hey, I survived._ Feeling almost exhausted, he slowly walks out of the car, hoping to find John before Diaz kills him with whatever tricks he may have up his sleeve.

* * *

Dinah walks through an empty hallway, still not seeing Diaz or Laurel. She expected to hear gunshots or a canary cry right about now. Surprisingly, though, she has heard nothing but barely functioning light bulbs since walking inside.

She turns and walks into a doorway, seeing if the room has any clues on where Diaz may have gone. Instead, she finds Laurel on the floor across from another woman holding a knife and a metal pipe. She immediately steps in and lets out a canary scream, which surprisingly does nothing, the sound somehow muffled.

Laurel gets up and uses a canary cry of her own, but still no effect. Then, both of them let out canary cries at the same time. Overtime, the bubble that formed around the woman started to crack until finally, it breaks and the sound waves send the woman flying towards the wall, the sounds no longer muffled.

Dinah and Laurel catch their breath, the screams taking a lot out of them. The woman gets up, prompting Dinah to draw her gun. but the woman retreats, probably thinking that taking them both on is a mistake.

Dinah's focus now turned to Laurel, both of them still catching their breaths.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"How the hell did she do that?"

"I have no idea."

They at least know something now: Diaz isn't here and knew Laurel would try to find him. The woman was left here to cut ties between them, as it were.

* * *

John manages to catch up to Diaz just as he is about to run towards the car with the weapon in it. He aims his gun right at Diaz.

"Diaz, freeze!" Diaz stops dead in his tracks. "Hands up. Slowly."

Diaz does as he is told, but also turns his head, showing a devious grin. "You miss me, John!?"

Suddenly, Diaz turns completely around, reaching into his coat and quickly takes out what looks like a small, long ranged flame thrower. John takes cover behind a stack of barrels before Diaz's flames reached him. He tries to fire from cover, but the flames are to bright and intense for him to see.

John looks around for anything he can use to shield himself from the flamethrower. The only thing he can find is one of the lids of the containers. He takes it off and fires off a couple of shots, provoking Diaz to shoot fire at the lid. The lid proves effective as the flames are blocked as it reaches it's surface.

John, however, is now out of ammo, but not out of options. He steps onto the elevated surface next to him, keeping the lid close as he charges at Diaz. John jumps on top of Diaz, forcing him down to his knees, but not disarming him of his weapon. As Diaz sprays more fire John's way, he takes out a knife and throws it at Diaz's shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon.

As Diaz takes the knife out of his shoulder, John runs at him and grabs both of his legs, forcing him down to the ground. John quickly pins Diaz, delivering a flurry of punches. Diaz flips them both over, readying his knife for a killing blow. John, however, kicks Diaz away before he gets the chance.

Diaz charges at John, thrusting the knife towards him. John quickly traps the hand, palm strikes Diaz's shoulder, and directs the hand at an angle to make it easy to disarm.

With the knife no longer in play, John punches Diaz again, but Diaz pushes away and stands back up. As John tries to close the distance, Diaz employs a spinning hook kick, which he dodges. Diaz then goes for a sidekick that hits John in the stomach. Diaz then charges at him with a flying knee followed by a cross to the face. John dodges it and grabs Diaz, striking with his knee while Diaz uses his free hand to punch John.

As John keeps his grip on Diaz, he notices the battery lying on the floor. His focus now on taking the battery, he throws Diaz to the ground, following it up with a low kick to the face. Diaz, however, grabs his foot and gets up quickly, raising the leg and goes in for a sweep, knocking John down.

Diaz looks up and rushes towards the direction of the battery. Before he gets too close, an arrow lands right in front of him. Both of them turn around to see the Green Arrow on top of the car behind them now jumping down to ground level.

He preps and fires another arrow, a grapple arrow, but Diaz catches it just as it reaches his chest.

"Fool me once!" As he says this, The Green Arrow presses a button on the bow, which activated some kind of extension on the arrow, causing the claws to fly out of the shaft and dig into Diaz's flesh, making him wince and let go of the arrow. The shaft quickly attaches to the claw, and the Green Arrow pushes the button again and kneels. Diaz goes flying into the air and over the Green Arrow, hitting the door of the car so hard that it flew off it's hinges. John can't tell whether Diaz is dead or just unconscious.

The Green Arrow walks towards John, extending his hand. John quickly takes it, getting up quickly. He looks towards where Diaz was flung, seeing him struggling to get up.

"Of course that didn't kill him."

"He survived being thrown off a rooftop by a canary cry and into a river. Even I knew that couldn't kill him."

John somewhat wonders how he knows that, but doesn't have time to question it. "And the Longbow Hunters?"

"Down, but not out." The Green Arrow runs over and grabs the battery. "Come on!" John follows the Green Arrow, both of them stepping onto the car with the weapon. He them taps on his ear, where the comm is. "Overwatch, we have the battery. Detach the car."

" **What? No. Diaz will get away."**

"The battery and weapon are more important Miss Smoak. Please detach the car."

" **I can't. He'll get away."**

John can see one of the Longbow Hunters, the brutish man, sluggishly gaining, their injuries and headaches probably slowing them down. "We don't have time for this. Curtis-"

"No! Miss Smoak-Felicity, listen to me. I know you want to see your husband and son again. I know you want to have your family back and make Diaz pay. I want to see him face justice more than anything. But if he gets his hands on this weapon, there will be no home for your family to come back to. You know this."

For a moment, there is silence. Diaz and the Longbow Hunter eventually get out from the car and start to slowly make their way towards them. John grips the bars on the edge of the car tight, worried that Felicity won't do it. Suddenly, the car detaches, jolting John and the Green Arrow a little, but giving them both relief, nonetheless.

"Thank you, Miss Smoak."

Both of them watch as the distance between them and Diaz increases. The last thing they see is Diaz with a glare, but not of pure rage. He must have backup plans for destroying Star City but thought this one was going to be the easiest. He knows better now. He'll be prepared not just for A.R.G.U.S, but the Green Arrow as well.

The Green Arrow looks to John, holding the battery in his hand. "Our arrangement still stands?"

"Yeah."

He starts to walk into the car, but John stops him. "Wait." There is a bit of a pause as John shuts off their comms, wanting to keep this conversation private. "I never really agreed with the Anti-Vigilante Act. There should always be a Green Arrow, someone to give the people hope, especially with what Star City has went through. But I didn't know what to make of you. I didn't know whether you were fighting for the city or yourself. That's why I wanted to help you. But, after what you said to convince Felicity, I know where you stand. I can't help you in any way, but I'm glad that a good person is wearing that hood."

The Green Arrow looks down at the floor, as if thinking to himself. He then breathes a small sigh and looks up to John. "Thank you, Mr. Diggle."

The Green Arrow tries to step inside, but John puts a hand on his shoulder. "But…I also know that you can't do this alone. Not for long."

"I have to. If I let others fight my battles, they die. The death of your men proved that."

The reminder of John's men dying in the car weakens his grip on the Green Arrow's shoulder, who shrugs it off and proceeds into the car. John lowers his head and rubs his eyes, the grief now setting back in. He thinks again of how this could've been avoided, how he should've listened to the Green Arrow when he said that Diaz would be prepared for him. He also remembers all the times during his tours in Afghanistan how many others died to accomplish the mission, how their sacrifices were not in vain. But this just felt different. _Maybe if it were just the Green Arrow and I, maybe-_

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of whooshing in the car. He quickly goes inside to find only the weapon but no Green Arrow. He really isn't that surprised. He has seen enough crazy things to not be surprised by anything unnatural, especially someone disappearing out of thin air.

* * *

Felicity leans on the chair, her hands clamped together as she finalizes her apology to John for what she said about him not upholding the mission Oliver started. She spots John walking in and towards her. He stands just a few meters from her, not having to say anything to know that they need to talk.

"I thought I could do it your way. And then you saw Diaz."

"There's need to explain. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm not. I understand why you did what you did. The world is a safer place because Diaz doesn't have that weapon. I was wrong before. You may be working here now at A.R.G.U.S, but you are still honoring Oliver's mission."

John smiles. "I appreciate you saying that."

"But…I still can't rest until I know that my family is safe. Which means I need to work with someone who's focus is bringing down Diaz. And that someone is not you."

Seeing John's smile fade, she quickly leaves. As she exists the room, Curtis strolls on by and walks with her. "I'm guessing that was your last mission with A.R.G.U.S. And probably with me too."

"I'm sorry Curtis."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Find help somewhere else."

Curtis stops following, leaving Felicity on her own as she finds her way out. As she walks to the elevator, she can feel her phone vibrate and give off a text alert. She takes it out and looks at her messages. Her eyes widen and then turn into a glare as she sees the message, along with who it is from. _Meet me on the roof before you leave. G.A._

* * *

William looks down at the people leaving to return to their homes for the night, to see their families and loved ones, to tell them how their day went, and all the things families do together. His reunion with Felicity, however, will be nothing like that, given the circumstances.

He can hear footsteps approaching him from behind. He turns around and sees Felicity glaring at him as she got close. She stops at a distance.

"You did the right thing. You should know that."

"It doesn't make it any better."

"I know. Just as I know that you're going to try to get help from the FBI. It won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because according to a list of high value targets I lifted from their mainframe, Diaz is rated the lowest."

"Why? Samantha Watson made a deal with my husband-"

"Which the rest of the FBI is not going to honor. But I will. I made him a promise that I would make him face justice, and that's what I'm going to do."

"Because you think you're the Green Arrow? Because you think you can replace my husband?"

"I never said I was trying to replace him. I'm upholding what the Green Arrow means to the people of Star City. It's become more than just a man in a hood. It's a symbol. A symbol that brings hope in the innocent and invokes fear in criminals. And I aim to uphold that symbol."

"Symbol or not, if you think you're going to be the one to take down Diaz, you are dead wrong. This man tore my family apart and I made a promise to my son that I would bring him back home! So, I am not going to do nothing and wait while you probably take too long to stop him! I'm going to get help from the FBI, one way or another, so just stay out of my way."

Felicity storms off, leaving William alone, upset at the outcome that he expected and concerned about Felicity. _Her obsession is taking hold. I need to keep a closer eye on her and prevent her from doing anything drastic._

* * *

 _Roy and William began to dig as Roy continued to explain what Oliver told him prior to his exile to Lian Yu. "Oliver told me what was on the island. When I first came here, I found the four graves he mentioned. But then, I found this one. Look, I can take care of this if you want."_

 _William stops for a moment to look at Roy. "This will go faster if I help. Besides, I'm not going anywhere until I get my answers."_

 _Not wanting to argue, Roy just kept digging along with William. As they do, they feel the shovel hit something solid, almost wooden. They looked closer and see a pad lock keeping a nearly invisible container shut. Roy broke the lock and opened the container to find what looked like a bow and quiver inside._

 _William recognized the bow right away and picked it up. Upon further inspection, his suspicions were confirmed, but new questions were raised. "This is my father's recurve bow. Why would Felicity want me to have this?"_

" _I know why." Roy opened a tiny compartment on the hilt, which William didn't see before. In it is a small piece of paper that Roy took and opened up._

 _William continued to examine the bow, finding it still in pristine condition, no splintering or worn out bow string. He then took the quiver out, seeing all the arrows and trick arrows still in good condition as well. He started to wonder how recently this bow was buried and if there were any other compartments anywhere, but his thoughts were diverted by the sound of a cigarette lighter next to him. He turned and saw Roy burn the piece of paper, possibly the only clue William had to find Oliver or Felicity._

" _Wait, what the heck?"_

" _Grab your things. We're going back."_

" _Back-back to where?"_

" _To Star City."_

 _William became more confused, but also kind of ecstatic. He now had more questions than ever, but the prospect of finally going back to Star City after so many years somewhat overshadowed them. He looked back to the bow, assuming that whatever Roy saw in that paper had something to do with why Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow went dark. If there were any answers to find, they were in Star City._

* * *

Dinah looks at the old sketch of the Hood from six years ago with an officer who has sighted him a couple of days ago. With the little information they have, the SCPD are practically stuck on who he or she may be. Her attention is grabbed by someone knocking on the side of her office doorway, that person being someone she expected.

"Laurel."

"Isn't that supposed to be a doughnut?"

Laurel refers to the bagel in Dinah's hand. Dinah chuckles a bit at the "cops eat doughnuts" joke. "So funny." She puts down the bagel and turns to the officer behind her. "Can you give us a minute?" The officer complies, leaving the office and closing the door.

"I just-uh, I wanted to come by and thank you. For the backup. Also, from now on, I will be accepting protection from the SCPD. No more ditching. No more complaining…well, maybe a little complaining."

"Well, uh, I appreciate that. Anything else?"

Laurel looks hesitant, her eyes looking down to the floor for a moment. "No. That's it." She then turns and starts to walk out the door. Just as Dinah is about to get back to studying the Green Arrow's case file, Laurel becomes hesitant again. She then turns around and walks back in.

"Actually, that's not it. I know that Quentin wasn't my father…Not-not the father that raised me anyways, and…I guess I had just forgotten what it felt like to have someone who cared about me. And losing him…it was the worst pain that I've felt in a very long time. And I can only imagine how you must have felt after Vinny's death."

The mere mention of Vinny brings back the painful memories of seeing Vinny die, both times she watched him die. It became too much for her, the overwhelming trauma settling back in. "Please don't."

"Listen, I don't expect you to forgive me…but I have to tell you that I am truly sorry about killing Vinny. And I hope one day you'll see that I am not that person. Not anymore."

Laurel finally leaves, no hesitation in her step this time. Dinah sits there, feeling guilt and sympathy for what she has said and heard. Laurels displays of her own guilt felt genuine, not fake as she is when in public as the D.A. She also never opened up like that before. It felt like seeing a side of her she never wished to reveal. For once, Dinah sees Laurel more as a human being and less as a monster. Someone who regrets everything that she has done. Someone who is trying to become good, and Dinah kept insulting her and shutting her out. _Maybe Quentin did see something in her._

* * *

"This Diaz guy sounds like a living nightmare, but you sure this is a good idea?"

"My way's not working. Do I have a choice?"

Oliver gets up from the table and walks towards Yorke, stopping when he is just a few feet away. "Hey. Hey!" Yorke turns around, looking at Oliver with contempt. "What's your problem?"

Yorke takes a couple of steps towards Oliver. "I know you're not talking to me, inmate."

"You've had it in for me since day one."

"You need to shut up and get back."

Oliver refuses to listen, taking a couple steps so he is close to Yorke. "Do your wife and son know you're such a dick?"

Yorke looks at him with wide eyes, as if that is information that should not be known to anybody but himself. "What did you say to me?"

Oliver leans in to Yorke's ear. "It's Jenna and Noah, right?"

"You don't say their names."

Yorke starts reaching for his belt, probably for the baton to lash out at Oliver. Oliver grabs the hands to prevent him, but Yorke seemingly attacks anyways, but not with the baton. Oliver grunts in pain as a shiv, covered in blood, drops to the floor.

Oliver whimpers away, pointing at Yorke. "You-you-you-you stabbed me." Oliver then drops to the floor, cowering before Yorke.

"What? I didn't stab you."

"Get away from him." One of the other guards, Dunbar, who notices all this, walks towards Yorke and restrains him before he takes one step, the other guards doing the same.

Oliver continues to cower and point at Yorke. "The video. The guard. He stabbed me!"

"I didn't-Dunbar, what are you doing? I didn't touch him."

"Get him out of here."

Dunbar and the other guards start to escort Yorke out of the room as he struggles to break free. "No! Wait. No! He's lying! I didn't do anything!"

The alarms begin to blare and the cafeteria room beings to lock down. Oliver lies there, seemingly surviving from being attacked by a guard who lost his temper. But William knew better than that.

He rewinds the time recording, slowing up the footage of Oliver grabbing Yorke's hand. He zooms in and enhances the footage, seeing that the shiv was really in Oliver's hand, but angled it in such a way that nobody would even notice, not even the security cameras. Another point he fast forwards to is one of the inmates, Brick, smiling just as Yorke is taken away. William puts together that this was a deal made between him and Oliver to get information on Diaz's informant in Slabside.

 _Not you too, Dad._ He looks from the screen to his bible, remembering the gospel reading he read yesterday, the one he believes more and more to be answering the concerns that he has. The answer he thought can never be true. But the way everything has been for the past few days, he seems to think this is the case.

William places his hands together in a prayer. "God, your son Jesus once encountered a man, blind from birth, begging in the streets. His disciples asked what sin the man's parents did that he be punished in their stead. Jesus responded that they did nothing. Rather, the man is blind so that your work may be done."

"For the longest time, I thought that it only applied to me, that I was here to do your work, to correct everyone's mistakes. But now…I question if it's not just me, but all of Team Arrow. Is Dad in prison so that he can find information on Diaz? Is Felicity's obsession the driving force to bringing him down? Do John, Rene, Laurel, and Dinah have some role to play in the positions they are in now? Are we the means through which your work, some grand plan to save Star City from its bleak fate, may be done?"

"If what I ask is true, don't let…don't let them succumb to the darkness. Even if they change in the end, let them have some semblance of the family and friends that I knew, some semblance of the the vigilantes I admired and looked up to. Let them keep the light that even I still struggle to keep. Don't let them become the people I fight against. Amen."

* * *

As he closes another report from one of his agents, he hears the door to his chamber open. There stood Ricardo, looking worn and wounded. He limps in, a face of anxiousness imprinted on him. He knows what this means.

Ricardo stops just a few meters from the desk, trying his best to stand up straight. "Deacon, let me just say that I-"

"SPEAK." The Deacon did not care for excuses. He always expects results, good or bad. The necessary punishments are always swift and met with equal measure, even if there is a reason for the failure.

Ricardo takes a deep breath, probably set aback by the Deacon's altered voice from his mask. "John Diggle and the Green Arrow got away with the weapon and battery. But it wasn't my-"

"SILENCE." The Deacon stands up and walks towards Ricardo, who twitches his fingers, anticipating some form of pain that he is not ready to take. Rather, the Deacon places a hand upon his shoulder. "My child, you have been a valuable asset to us. Infiltrating Star City, nearly priming it for the destruction it deserves. But your judgement has been clouded. You lust for vengeance on Oliver Queen and project that vengeance upon his wife and son."

"My score with Oliver Queen isn't the problem."

"Then prove it. I have another task for you. Inside a facility occupied by the FBI is one of your concoctions. One that will give you your full strength, and beyond."

Ricardo starts to smirk. "The refined mirakuru."

"Find it and take it. Only then will you be ready for the next plan."

Ricardo then looks concerned. "Oliver's kid will be right behind me. How do you expect me to not-"

"Leave William to me. Rest, then get the mirakuru."

Ricardo nods and takes a step to leave. But the Deacon tugs at the shoulder, forcing him back. "Fail this mission or any more in the future and your time in this organization ends. Understood?" Ricardo nods quickly. "Good. Go."

Ricardo then limps on and out of the doorway. The Deacon walks back to his chair and as he sits, he looks in the small mirror at the demon mask he made for himself. His symbol of what he has become, what he must be in order to do what he must. To do what the one he worships won't.

He then picks up the phone, making a call to someone he has kept a mental note on. Someone who he knows would want to do work with him to get his criminal organization back on its feet.

After a few seconds of hearing a dialing ring, the voice the Deacon wanted to hear answers. **"Hello?"**

"Kane Wolfman, I have a proposition for you…"

* * *

 **Feel free to favorite this if you like it so far and leave a review. Also follow to keep up to date when a new chapter comes up.**


	4. Episode 3: Sacrifice

**Author's Notes:** Hello readers! First off, thank you for leaving reviews and questions of the story so far. I am seeing some questions regarding how Diaz knows William from the future or how it makes sense to the plot. Let me assure you that these questions and more will be answered as the story goes along and will be integral to the plot.

One question, however, is something I'd like to address here, and it is how old future William is in the timeline and if I am using the actor currently playing future William in Season 7 or using another actor's likeness. First, since the future is sometime around 2040, future William, in both present and future, is in his early 30's, probably 33 since, according to the Arrowverse wiki, he is born in 2007. If this information is inaccurate, feel free to let me know. Second, I am not using the actor currently playing future William nor am I using the appearance of any other actor. My vision for William is that he looks a lot like Oliver and has some similar characteristics to him, which will also come into play.

With all of that said, I hope I've painted a clearer picture of William and the story going forward for everyone. Please enjoy the fanfiction.

* * *

 **Disclaimer** : Based on characters and references owned by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _With my Dad in jail, Team Arrow split up, and new enemies on the rise,_

 _I must work harder than ever to correct the mistakes of the past by becoming someone else_

 _By becoming someone else_

 _I am the new Green Arrow_

* * *

Episode 3: Sacrifice

* * *

"William?" He looks at the ground, not even wanting to make eye contact with the Dean. "Do you know what you have done wrong?" Hearing no response, the Dean leans forward in his chair. "I know you're tired of these lectures. They would stop if you just—"

"They would stop if you actually took me seriously." William finally raises his head, frustration riddled all over his face. "I'm the only one doing anything about—"

"I told you for the fifth time, William. We are doing everything we can about your supposed 'bully.'"

"My friends are getting beat up! Their money is taken and security aren't looking into it!"

"Because we have found no evidence, as you are aware."

"Because they manage to cover everything up and the guards now think I'm crying wolf or something! It's up to me to—"

"You're not a hero William! You're not—"

"My Dad? You're right. I'm not a vigilante."

* * *

From the vantage point, William can see the entire dockyard. Containers take up the majority of the ground, making it nearly impossible for the naked eye to see everything without getting up close. Luckily, he has his detective vision, which he switches on.

Almost immediately, red dots light up everywhere. _About 15 in total. 10 of them are near the containers, 2 of them near the main entrance, and 3 near the storage buildings, waiting for their guests. The walls are pretty easy to climb over. I should take the ones near the containers first, then take the ones at the gate after the others arrive, making it easy for me to take the others out._

With his plan formulated, he puts on his hood and face mask. He then readies a rope arrow and shoots it at one of the containers not being patrolled. He ties the other end to a sturdy pole. With his means of getting in set up, he jumps from the building, swinging the bow onto the rope and hangs on tight as he rides it towards the docks.

" _But I'm doing something to help others around here, something you clearly won't do."_

 _"By fighting against other students? Stalking them just so you can fulfill some need to bring justice? Or is it attention you want?"_

As William makes his way to the first guard, his detective vision sees five others also reaching the same position. _Take out six birds with one stone._ As they make their way to the gap the containers are making, he prepares a sleeping gas arrow, aimed just at the middle of their predicted path. The five of them round the corner, one of them taking out a carton of cigarettes and opening it as they gather round.

"Here everyone. As promised."

 _Now._ William shoots the arrow at the floor, the gas dispersing quickly before any of them have the slightest chance to react. They all catch a whiff, their coughing cancelling out any screams they intended to let out. Before they knew it, they were out cold, the gas dissipating quickly. William then jumps towards another container, reaching the next set of guards.

 _"I was following them, trying to catch them in the act or find any sort of evidence to prove that I'm telling the truth."_

 _"Security has already searched their rooms from top to bottom."_

 _"It's probably because they expect security to come to their place, so they have time to bury the evidence. They can't see me—"_

 _"Listen to me, William. You have a bright mind. You exceed other students in your classes. But your behavior has me worried about you."_

William spots three more guards chatting and laughing. William also spots one lone guard, who is too far away and somewhat too close to the guards at the entrance. Seeing a possible opportunity, he switches his detective vision on to see how far the sound waves of a flash bang and of containers being hit would spread. From the vision, he can see that it won't be detected much by the entrance guards, but the lone one may hear it and check things out. _Okay. Let's do this._

William takes out a flash bang arrow, inspired by Red Dart's design, and shoots it at the middle of the group. The flash goes off, the three of them going blind and rubbing their eyes, trying to clear their vision. Before they get their sight back, William shoots two concussion arrows, knocking a couple of them out. He then jumps down and grabs the third one quickly, throwing him onto the floor and near one of the containers opposite them. He picks the man up and slams him onto the container and hook punches him, rendering him unconscious.

As expected, the lone guard hears the commotion and calls out. When he hears nothing, he runs over to check it out. William crouches next to the pathway the guard is taking, waiting for just the right moment. As the guard rounds the corner, William employs a back-fist strike on the guard's stomach and forces him down into a chokehold. William, feeling that he is now unconscious, let's go of the guard, letting his body slump to the ground.

William gives a sly grin behind his face mask. _I guess criminals never learn._ He shoots a grapple arrow and flies upward to the container, making the gate the next place to hit.

 _"You seem to disregard your teachers, you got yourself into fights since coming here."_

 _"I was defending myself. I tried to keep a low profile, but they won't leave me or anyone else alone."_

 _"That doesn't give you the right to throw punches at the first person you think deserves it."_

He reaches the container with a clear view of the entrance, seeing the guards at their posts, not suspicious in the slightest. _So far, I haven't raised an alarm. Good._

William then sees two cars stopping at the entrance, both guards walking towards them. William takes the time to use his detective vision and see what he is now dealing with. _Eight men. Unlike these criminals here, they look more like those under Diaz's command. Six of them are armed, two of them important business men. The trunks have containers of weapons and cash, possibly $10,000. Too small to be worth something to criminals like these guys. More like a sample of what's to come._

The guards signal the cars to move on. As soon as the cars are clear from their sight, William quickly shoots two concussion arrows at them, not wasting time with an elaborate strategy.

He makes his way to where he saw the last three guards, seeing that they have multiplied with the eight others that have arrived. The two businessmen set down the two cases on the table in between the two groups.

William looks to the groups, seeing the armed men with either nervous trigger fingers, looks of suspicion, and shaky hands. _An opportunity for fear. With my explosive arrow, I can burn the cash and weapons while keeping everyone safe. The armed guards will either drop their guns or shoot in a frenzy._

William aims two explosive arrows at the cases, waiting for the right time to destroy them. The criminals on the right open the cases and step back, allowing their leader to examine them. _Now._

Before the crime leader could take one step, William shoots the cases, setting the cash ablaze. The criminals with guns, as predicted, either shoot everything in the air uncontrollably or drop their weapons out of shock.

 _The ones on the left still have their weapons. Shoot a gas arrow at them first, then go for the ones on the right._

William aims his gas arrow, shooting it at the group, rendering them unconscious. He then shoots a rope arrow at the other group and rides it down, knocking one of them out with a kick before he lands.

As William turns around, one of the guards comes at him with a telegraphed hook punch. Before the hit can land, he delivers a hook punch of his own. His attention then turns to the leader, who is struggling to get his pistol out. He finally draws it, but William, taking a page from his father's book, grabs the gun, spins around the leader so their backs are parallel, elbows him, and then locks both their free arms and employs a throw.

The leader moans in pain. William unloads the gun and tosses it aside. He then kneels, observing for anything to confirm his suspicions. As he turns the head, he sees it: a tattoo of a jackal on the back of his neck, the symbol of the Kasnian criminal organization, whose boss William knows well, or at least his future counterpart.

"Where's your boss!?"

Startled, he points to a location opposite of where William came from. He looks to where the Jackal points, now seeing a lone figure on top of the containers, someone he didn't see before. He wears black kevlar armor, a mask that is half black and half orange, and a sword on his back. _Wolfman._

"So, you actually came. I guess my contact was right. You'd stop any crime, even if it was a setup." Wolfman jumps down, drawing the sword from his back and slowly making his way towards William. The Jackal gets up and runs, believing that his boss can settle this. "You see, I've just been hired to take you in, and in exchange, I get more weapons and money to give the Jackals control of Kasnia again. So, you can either surrender, or I'll have to rough you up."

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing."

William throws the bow to his right hand, positioning it in front of him and leaving his free hand in front of his face and behind the bow. Wolfman positions his sword in front of him, both hands tightening on the grip. They have made their stances clear: none of them is leaving with the other willingly.

" _Violence doesn't solve problems William. Using your head does."_

" _And you think that I can't use my head when thinking of ways to defend myself?"_

" _Don't twist my words. You should be able to defend yourself. But what you demonstrate is clearly not self-defense, but an agenda against other students who you think mean you and others harm. Beating up the supposed bully can create more harm than good and put you in danger. Is that what you want?"_

" _If that means I can help others when you can't? Yes."_

After a long pause, Wolfman's grip on the sword tightens, and he charges at William. Wolfman comes in with a flurry of swings aimed just about everywhere, but William blocks each one successfully, trying to find any opportunity to strike back. He finds it when he ducks under a horizontal swing, allowing him to strike at the shins. This has no effect since everything from the shin to the knee on both legs is covered in armor. William then dodges a vertical strike and puts some distance between him and Wolfman.

 _His fighting style resembles a mixture of kenjutsu and kali, no doubt taught to him by his father, Slade Wilson. I need to test his defenses before I formulate a plan of attack._

William goes into the offensive, employing his own series of strikes against Wolfman. His are a bit slower, more deliberate, but become faster with each hit. Despite this, Wolfman blocks each one. As William goes for a backhand strike to the head, Wolfman blocks it and then tries to twirl both weapons as a way to try and disarm William. Catching on to this quickly, William makes the twirl go into a wider arc, resulting in the blade and bow being locked to the ground.

Wolfman tries to move his weapon, but William quickly traps the hand and redraws his bow, aiming for the upper part of Wolfman's leg, making him stagger. He then let the trapped hand go and swings his bow at the helmeted head. With Wolfman dazed, William tries to go in for a hold. Wolfman, however, recovers quickly, grabbing William and throwing him away. William recovers with a roll and quickly goes back to his fighting stance.

 _Analysis complete. Results: The armor I previously assumed was Kevlar is in fact a more advanced mesh with minimal pieces covering the shin, chest, and wrists. Those, including the helmet, make for strong armor that is also flexible, so his movement isn't hindered. Not even my bow has an effect. My only strategy here is finding an opportunity for a throw and incapacitate him on the ground._

Wolfman charges and swings again. William now opts to dodge the incoming attacks and backing up to the container behind him, hoping that at least one of them will leave an opening. Wolfman goes in for a stab, which William side steps, and it gets lodged into the container wall. With the sword out of play, William grabs the wrist and pulls Wolfman away, following it up with a wrist throw. Wolfman, however, breaks the fall with his palm, which he uses as a pivot as he swings his legs over to sweep kick William. However, William quickly lets go of the hand and goes into a cartwheel, dodging his attack.

William goes for his net arrow, hoping to shoot it before Wolfman has the chance to react. Unfortunately for him, Wolfman draws a pistol hidden behind the back of his shin and aims it at William. Both men stand there, not seeing any way that they can both get a shot out without the other shooting at the same time.

"FREEZE!" William did not dare to turn his head, but recognized the voice of John Diggle, along with the footsteps and weapons of other A.R.G.U.S agents aimed at him and Wolfman. "Kane Wolfman, you are under arrest for violating laws in 19 different countries."

"Give up Wolfman. You can't beat all of us."

Wolfman is still, not moving a muscle. "You're right."

From his wrist, a black ball shoots out into his hand. He quickly throws it to the ground, revealing it to be a smoke bomb. William is blind for a second, but his detective vision flickers on immediately, showing Wolfman running past him and towards a fence. The agents try to shoot him, but he proves too fast. William does have one option available. He throws an arrowhead at Wolfman under the guise that it was supposed to hit him. A tracker shoots out of it, attaching itself to Wolfman just before he escapes.

William then turns to John, wondering how he found out about this deal and knowing this means that they will have to, once again, work together to stop another threat to the future.

* * *

"You feel the responsibility to protect others from harm, and I respect that William. But this has become a dangerous habit of yours, and I am genuinely worried about you and your future here. So, I'm giving you one more chance."

"Another trip to the counselor?"

"No. We tried that already quite a few times. This person is an old friend of mine visiting from Gotham City. You are to meet him here after your last class. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Glad that the lecture is over, William gets up to leave.

"Hold it."

William freezes, keeping a neutral stare, but feels frustrated inside.

"This is your final warning. If you break one more rule, I will expel you and call you step mother. And you are to stay away from Noah until it is clear to me that you are past this delusion. Understood?"

William nods.

"Good. You may leave."

William finally steps out and follows security to his dorm room, one thought on his mind. _Like she cares anymore._

* * *

As Curtis finishes and sends a brief report to Lyla about the results of the mission to capture Wolfman, he hears footsteps coming up the small stairs and into what he likes to call the portable base. He turns around, expecting John. Instead, he sees the Green Arrow, looking around. _Well great. Working with him again. It's not like we're trying to cut off all ties to our vigilante lifestyles or anything._

"Nice setup."

"Well, don't touch anything. This is sensitive equipment."

"Easy, Curtis." Curtis sees John, who he didn't hear enter before, walk over to his left side. The Green Arrow sits himself down before John starts talking. "All the Jackals have been rounded up and handed to the police. We didn't mention anything about you, so your safe. So, I think you owe us an explanation on how you found Kane Wolfman and the Jackals."

"You first."

"He asked you a—"

"Curtis." John waves his hand, telling Curtis to just let it be. He complies, but he's still skeptical about revealing information to someone they barely know. "We've been tracking Wolfman for months. Recently, we captured someone who was going to do business with him, and he told us about the Jackals meeting with Diaz's gang. Now, your turn."

"Fine. I received an…anonymous tip that the Jackals came to Star City and that they were going to receive weapons and cash from the remnants of Diaz's gang. I didn't know what the Jackals were going to give in exchange, but now I do."

"What is it?"

"Me. Alive."

Curtis expressed concern about this new information that they're hearing. From the look on John's face, so is he. Sure, helping the Green Arrow may give Samantha Watson an excuse to arrest them, but he has proven himself as someone that is at least concerned for the city's safety and someone a lot of people look up to as a sign of hope. If he gets captured, that hope is lost, probably forever.

John then nods. "Well, if that's the case, then you need to lay low."

"No chance. I'm not going to let Wolfman and the Jackals roam around if I have the chance to stop them."

"Then let me remind that this is an—" The cold stare from the Green Arrow's now lens less eyes stops John in his tracks. "Fine, I'll spare you the lecture. But you are going to receive help from us."

"On one condition. We keep this to a three-man team. Just you, me, and Mr. Holt. No one else. We won't have a repeat of the train fiasco again."

John looks down at the floor, letting out a sigh, remembering how many agents died on their mission to stop Diaz from exporting an energy weapon, how many of their families they had to tell the bad news to. Curtis can't help but feel the same.

"That's fair. But I have a condition of my own. What we do will also require day time reconnaissance, something you can't do without the risk of exposing yourself. You're going to show yourself to us if you want to be a part of this operation. Your true self."

The Green Arrow looks down to the floor, but in thought rather than emotional turmoil. Curtis can understand why. Revealing your identity to strangers is a risky maneuver.

The Green Arrow then looks back up. "Deal. But not here." He takes out a piece of paper from his pocket. "In here is a code phrase that will confirm it's me. The first sentence is what I say. You will speak the second sentence."

The Green Arrow gets up, extending the piece of paper to John. He takes it and they shake hands, the agreement now solidified, which worries Curtis. As the Green Arrow leaves, Curtis stops him. "Hold on. This doesn't mean I have to go out in the field, does it?"

"I most certainly hope it does." The statement only heightened Curtis' fears as the Green Arrow leaves. He doesn't try to argue about it, thinking to himself that the chances of him on the field are very slim, but doesn't shake the restlessness inside him. He doesn't feel ready for this, but he is going to have to do it anyways.

The kitchen air fills with the smell of microwaved bacon and stove cooked scrambled eggs, a meal that Rene feels that he and Zoe missed out on for so long. With all that is happening to the glades, it's almost dangerous to stay out from home for too long. With the new Green Arrow, though, getting to places feels safer, that they can get the freshest ingredients without worrying that a robbery may happen at any second. To him, they're feasting on a brunch worthy of kings.

He places the food on each of their plates, the smell making them both almost drool. "Okay Peanut. Let's eat."

Just before he sits himself down, he hears the door open. From the doorway, he can see Felicity walking over to the couch and open her laptop, looking as if in a rush.

Rene turns to Zoe. "You get started without me. Okay?"

"Okay."

Rene walks over to Felicity, now sitting on the couch and typing away at her computer. He stands over her, concerned about what answer she will give.

"I take it things with Agent Watson didn't go so well?"

"Not so far. She said that Diaz isn't a major threat and that I should trust them to get it done."

"But you won't?"

"Nope, because I don't believe a single word she says and, if I'm right, neither does she. When I was talking to her, I could see the emotions riddled on her face. Guilt, doubt, sympathy. All the stuff that says she wants to catch Diaz as much as we do. That's why I placed a bug in her office."

Rene looks at her with a wide-eyed stare. "Wow. You are really done with doing things the A.R.G.U.S way, aren't you?"

"John has other priorities besides Diaz. I don't."

"Well, don't you think that bugging Watson's office is kinda breaking our immunity deal?"

"I'm going with the 'asking for forgiveness' path and hope that works."

"Okay. Well, while waiting to see if Watson is not as stubborn as we think, how about you have some brunch?"

"No. I had a bagel on the way back."

"Okay." He starts to head back to the table.

"And Rene." He stops and looks back to Felicity. "Thanks for the help, and for letting me crash on your couch, which is surprisingly comfortable."

Rene smiles. "I've been dying to get the band back together…and maybe add one more member."

"If you're going to say the new Green Arrow, you know my answer."

"Well, you gotta admit, he's been doing a great job keeping the city safe." He points to the table. "That meal we're having over there, that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the Green Arrow stopping robbers from stealing everything in the store and the muggers who prey on somebody. If Oliver's not coming back for a while, we should consider this guy as an alternative. The people need a Green Arrow, you know that."

Rene, saying all he wanted to say, turns back to the table to enjoy brunch with Zoe. He can't help but worry about Felicity though. She's done something like bugging an office before, but that was to help Oliver and the others in the field. This time, however, felt more like a step towards revenge. He knows how far a person can go for something like that, and the consequences are always dire.

* * *

As usual, the food being served to prisoners is minimal and stale. For Oliver, it makes him feel like he's back on Lian Yu, trying to imagine everything he eats is like the meals he used to have back at the Queen Manor. Stanley didn't seem to mind, but he looks more worried for Oliver than for what is being served to them.

"I still can't believe you stabbed yourself. You didn't hit anything big, did you? Like your liver or something? Heh, right. You probably don't have a liver. Just muscle."

Oliver places his hand on the wound, which hurts when moving around. "You think I had any other choice?"

Just as they were being served, Oliver turns around once again to see if Brick has come in yet. He indeed has, along with Turner and Sampson. They force a few prisoners who are occupying a table to move, giving them the space to themselves.

Oliver heads on over to the table, clutching his side as his movement increases his pain. As he does, the three of them notice just as they are about to walk to the line and get some food. The way they face each other feels like a stand off of sorts.

"I did what you asked. Tell me where to find Diaz."

"That wasn't how I intended for you to get rid of Yorke."

"I found a better way."

Sampson scoffs. "He still thinks he's a hero."

Turner smiles. "You're a bigger idiot than I thought."

"Easy gents. A deal's a deal. Getting Yorke off our backs means we're back in business. Thanks to Queen here, we're going to have a hell of a night."

"Where is Diaz?"

"I don't know him, but I do know someone who does. There's an informant in Slabside. Anything that goes on in this prison goes through the Demon first."

Oliver is hesitant to ask for a second. He knows only one person with a name like that, but he should be dead. Oliver made sure of it. "The Demon?"

"Yeah, the person who ordered the hit on you and has a direct connection with Diaz. All I did was handle the transaction. But, seeing as I am…a man of my word, I will arrange a meeting."

"You really expect me to trust you?"

"Well, you don't have much choice, now do you?"

Oliver knows that Brick is right. He doesn't have many other options to find the Demon. "When?"

"Tonight, cell 3-B after lights out." Brick leans a bit towards Oliver's ear. "And you will know when."

The three of them walk past Oliver to get some food. Oliver heads back to the line, where Stanley is holding his lunch. As he takes it and they both head to their usual table, Oliver thinks about how close he is to the truth.

* * *

"Stall all you want, but eventually you're gonna break. And when you do, I'll be right here. Last chance…before I bring HER in." John leans back in his chair, staring down at the perpetrator with cold eyes. He then eyes the item in question, its contents empty. John knows the person before him is the suspect, even though he denies the claim. He asks once again, "Did you eat this whole box of cookies?"

John Jr. still doesn't say a word, looking more scared by the minute. Just as John was about to call on Lyla, she enters in and kneels next to their son.

"You were just hungry, right?" John Jr. nods, which makes John roll his eyes.

 _Every time. How does she do it?_

"Well, now we know what happens when you eat too much sugar. Come on, lets go see Ella. She has a lot of fun stuff planned while you father is working and I'm out of town."

Lyla leads John Jr. outside where Ella, the usual babysitter, is waiting. After making arrangements, she steps back into John's office, John looking perplexed.

"I've been trying to get him to talk for 20 minutes and you got him to confess in 15 seconds?"

"I'm his mother. I always know how to get on his good side."

"Right." John gets up from his chair and walks towards Lyla. "Is everything packed?"

"Yeah, there's just a few more things I have to arrange before the mission."

"Good." John can't help but feel a bit worried. This isn't the first time Lyla has gone solo on a mission, but it is the first time alone without him. Sure, he used to do vigilantism without her, but he had backup. The only help she will have is a hacker and a team on standby.

Lyla seems to notice this. "Hey. I'll be fine. This isn't my first time being on the field."

"I know. I've seen you in action. You're an incredible agent…and an incredible wife."

Lyla chuckles a bit at the flattery. "I know. You focus on Wolfman and Diaz. I'll call you when the mission's done."

John places his hands-on Lyla's hips, looking longingly into her eyes. "And I'll be counting the minutes until you come home. So will little John. I love you."

He leans in to give her a tender kiss, which he always treats like it's the last when a mission is upcoming. John leans away, seeing a smile on Lyla's face before she leaves the office. As he looks on, he smiles as well, reminiscing on how much they went through and how much she means to him.

As she steps out of the office, someone else comes towards his direction, someone…familiar. A man with buzz-cut hair that looks to be growing back and a face that looks hardened by long term conflict. It looks a lot like… _Oliver?_ As the man gets closer, John can see the differences in facial structure, signifying that he is not Oliver. He, however, can't shake the feeling that he somehow recognizes the man.

He enters the office with a couple cups of coffee. "Agent Diggle. Brought you that coffee you wanted."

John looks at him with a bit of confusion. "I, uh, didn't say I wanted a coffee and I don't know you."

"Well, I just wanted to bring you something to tell you that you're like a good Shepard."

John recognizes the last part of that sentence. He knows who this is now. "Because a good Shepard never leaves any of his sheep behind."

He walks towards the doors and closes them as the Green Arrow lays the coffees down on the table. This glass is soundproof, so nobody can listen in on them unless the room is bugged, which he knows it isn't.

He then looks to the Green Arrow, who is taking a sip from one of the coffees that he brought with him.

"You're not at all what I was expecting."

"You expected someone you would recognize?"

"Uh, sort of. I can't exactly call you the Green Arrow, even when we're in here."

"My real name can't be known, not even by you. But you can call me Connor Hawke."

 _Hawke? That was…_ John shakes his head, another question lingering in his mind.

"How did you get inside A.R.G.U.S?"

"I have my ways, Mr. Diggle."

"And you brought me coffee because?"

"A gesture of good faith. And no, there's no hidden sleeping pill inside. I wouldn't take advantage of anybody's trust. Especially when we have common goals."

John walks over to the table and takes the coffee. For safety's sake, he takes off the lid and smells it. It smells like the coffee he usually has at home before coming into work. Smelling nothing unusual, he sips it, the taste almost exactly like what he prefers. It kind of scared him.

"How do you know what I prefer?"

"Your wife is chatty about such things, especially to people who she believes are interns." Connor takes a sip from his coffee. "But we have more pressing matters."

"Right. Do we have any leads on Wolfman?"

"One. When he was fleeing, I managed to place a tracker on him. It stopped working at a warehouse just outside of the Glades."

"The Northeast end?"

"Yeah."

"The guy we caught, Nyambi Somto. He said he was going to meet Wolfman somewhere in that area with instructions on what to do when he got there. Also, he said he only spoke with Wolfman by phone, which means—"

"Wolfman and the Jackals won't be able to recognize him at first glance. But they know you and there's a sure chance they know me. There's no way we can pull it off."

"They don't know Curtis. Plus, Somto is a French man, which Curtis can impersonate easily. He goes in, confirms that Wolfman is there—"

"And we take him down before he knows what hit him. But we need a couple more thing."

"What?"

"Wolfman needs to take me in to Diaz, so he will need to see that 'Somto' got something of value for him."

"Right."

"Also, we need some gauntlets for me to use. I found out that armor is a much more advanced version of his father's and there is only some type of materials that can break it off. I'll need that before we can stop him."

"R&D have been working on something like that. I'll take it up with them, discreetly of course."

"Good. We have our game plan."

"Now we just need to hope it goes well."

"Knowing Team Arrow…I kinda doubt it."

John can't help but smirk at Connor's sarcastic remark. He remembers all the times something that went horribly wrong, whether it was miscommunication, drama, etc. In the end, though, they usually got the job done. He almost misses those days.

Suddenly, someone comes bursting through the doors, that someone being Curtis, who is looking down at a company tablet. "Hey John. I'm looking over the possibilities of where Kane Wolfman can be, and I narrowed—"

He looks up and sees Connor, looking a bit confused at first, but then looks as if he understands who this is. "You're you-know-who, aren't you?"

Connor nods his head. He and John look at Curtis, who is now getting a bit nervous. "And why are you two looking at me like that?"

They both turned their heads towards each other, seeing that they're both thinking the same thing. _Curtis is not going to like where this is going._

* * *

" **Okay, let me be the first to say that this is a bad idea. A really, really bad idea."**

"Relax, Mr. Holt. You're only going to confirm if Wolfman is there. Afterwards, Mr. Diggle brings me in and we ambush him. And we are monitoring you at all times, so if things go wrong, we pull you out. Okay?"

" **Alright, alright. Any signs of the Jackals?"**

From the portable base, John and William, who to John and Curtis is Connor, have satellite imaging of Curtis' location. So far, the streets are empty.

"Not so far, Mr. Holt. Will update if things change."

" **Copy that."**

William zooms out from Curtis' location and observes the streets outside his area. So far, all he can see are a few cars that are close to passing Curtis by. Just as he is about to zoom back in, John notices something.

"Look. Coming out of the alley."

William looks to where John is pointing, seeing a figure exit out of the alleyway. Zooming in on him, they can see that it is a man with disheveled hair wearing a brown jacket and black pants.

"Mr. Holt, you have someone incoming on your right. Turn on your camera so we can confirm the target."

" **Got it."**

The monitor for Curtis' glasses camera flickers to life, showing William and John a clearer image of the man. They can see that the man has a full beard and sunglasses. On his neck is a tattoo William recognizes, that of a jackal.

"That's definitely a Jackal. Mr. Holt, you're on."

" **Copy."**

They can hear Curtis clearing his throat as the Jackal approaches him.

The Jackal looks up and down at Curtis as he asks, **"Are you Nyambi Somto?"**

 _Thick Kasnian accent. Definitely the right guy._

" **Oui. Um, that means yes."**

 _French accent. Curtis is doing well so far._

" **Follow me."**

The Jackal leads Curtis back towards the alleyway he came from, then walking into a somewhat bigger alley where a few more Jackals await. William looks at the Jackal in the front, immediately recognizing him.

"Wait a minute. I know that Jackal. He was at the docks doing business with Diaz's men."

"Then he must be one of Wolfman's top people."

As Curtis approaches, the man stretches his arms out wide. **"Mr. Somto, good to see you. I would speak French, but I was not best in that class."**

" **Not necessary, Monsieur. My English is, as they say, up to par."**

" **Good. Saves us both times. But what doesn't save us time is an explanation of where our weapons are."**

" **My arsenal was…intercepted by A.R.G.U.S agents. However, I have recently obtained something of much more inherent value to you."**

" **And what would that be?"**

" **The Green Arrow."**

William and John can see the leader raise an eyebrow and give a curious glance. **"The Green Arrow? We encountered him only last night, sabotaged a deal between us and a potential investor. How did you catch him?"**

" **I have my ways, Monsieur."**

" **Prove it."**

"Show him my hood."

William and John can't see Curtis taking the hood from his pocket, but they do see him outstretching his hand, grasping the hood in his palm.

" **The Green Arrow's hood, taken from him after his capture. I have him restrained in a nearby location, ready for Monsieur Wolfman."**

The Jackal nods his head. **"Alright. I'll take him off your hands."**

" **Not with you. I would like to give him to Monsieur Wolfman in person when he gets here."**

" **Mr. Wolfman is currently with another client and won't be here for this exchange. But, if you are that stubborn, I'll help arrange a meeting with him sometime tonight."**

" **That was not part of our arrangement!"**

The Jackal looks at Curtis with a glare. **"I cannot just summon my boss at will. You either agree to this or hand him to us now."**

William and John look to each other with worry. Curtis is showing reluctance in his voice. If he doesn't go through with this, they may never get the chance to find Wolfman.

"Curtis, what are you doing? Take the deal."

After a short pause in which doubt and suspense filled the air for both of them, Curtis gives his answer. **"Very well, Monsieur. I will meet with him tonight."**

William and John breathe a sigh of relief as Curtis is given a burner phone.

" **I shall call you with the time and place in a couple of hours. Don't be late."**

William switches the screen off, not wanting to deal with the pressure anymore. He rubs his face with his hands. "Oh man, that was close."

"Tell me about it."

Thinking that they need to talk privately, William quickly switches the communicator off.

"Mr. Diggle, what the heck just happened out there?"

"I don't know."

"You realize that if he blew it, we could've lost Wolfman. Right?"

"I know. I know. Curtis hasn't been back on the field for some time. Maybe it was just him getting uneasy after so long."

"Five months doesn't always constitute a long time to be inexperienced. And we both heard him. He wasn't nervous, he was frustrated."

"Let's…let's just talk to him. Okay? I know him. It's not like him to be frustrated when something goes wrong."

As John finishes saying this, they hear footsteps coming inside the portable base. They turn to the doorway and see that it is indeed Curtis, looking as frustrated as William had predicted.

"Guys, what the hell did you just make me do?!"

"Funny, Mr. Holt. We were just discussing that about you."

"This was supposed to be an in and out mission!"

"Curtis, parameters change. You should know this."

"Well, listen to me. My days in the field were over since the day Oliver went to jail. I would like it to stay that way. I…I can't do this anymore. I'm out."

"You can't just do that. We still need you to help us take down Wolfman."

Curtis hastily takes out the burner phone and places it on the desk. "Then take it and go all Green Arrow! You can just swoop in and take him out with the gauntlets we gave you."

"It's not that simple, Mr. Holt. Wolfman could have who knows how many guards and is probably located somewhere I won't easily maneuver through. I need to engage them when their guard is down and you're the only one that can make that happen."

"Well, you better hope that there's a clone or some secret twin because I'm not doing that again! I'm out!"

Curtis takes off, each step pounding the floor and then the sidewalk. William pinches the ridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. _This is not going to be easy._

* * *

As he was told last night, William heads straight for the Dean's office to meet with whoever his friend is. As he walks, he sees other students his age give mixed looks. Some glare at him, thinking that fighting back against Noah is only making things worse. The other reason is because his father was the Green Arrow, who put some of their parents in jail and got forced here. Then there are the others who give him thumbs up or smiles, appreciating that there is someone at least taking a stand or they're Green Arrow fans.

Brushing past them, he finally makes it to the office, where he can hear muffling on the other side. Taking care not to interrupt the conversation, he opens the door slowly, the voices becoming clearer.

The first voice William hears is one he does not recognize. It sounded like a Southern accent. "Rest assured, I will take care of young William. You just keep up the work here until the time comes."

Believing that the conversation is over, William opens the door completely, getting the attention of the Dean and who William assumes is his friend.

"William. You actually came."

 _Like I had a choice._ "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, we were just finishing up. This is my friend, Joseph Blackfire."

Joseph Blackfire looks to be fit, but the gray strands in his dominantly black hair and wrinkles on his face tell William that he is probably in his late 50s or early 60s. He is wearing clothing like that of a businessman, the suit and pants being an ashen color with a white shirt and tie underneath. He gives off a friendly demeanor as he extends his hand to William, but something about him seemed a bit off. Regardless, William takes his hand and shakes it.

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Blackfire."

"Please, call me Joseph. Everyone does."

"Okay, now that you are acquainted, I must be off. I have business elsewhere. Joseph, feel free to use my desk." As he leaves, he points to William. "And listen to what he tells you, William."

With that, he leaves. Joseph sits down behind the Dean's desk and extends his hand to the chair opposite him. "Come, sit." William slowly walks to the seat and sits down, still wishing he was anywhere but here.

"I know. Your Dean is a very strict man. But he is good. But, to the point. From what I've been told, you are dealing with a student who you say is a bully."

"He is. I've seen him do it."

"And what exactly has he done?"

"Beat students up, take their money. He may have even gone to cyber bullying, but nobody can prove that."

"And you have gone to the Dean with this?"

"Yeah, about so many times and every time I do, either the students he beats up don't say anything out of fear or he claims that he has a different account from the one he cyberbullies with. I have to be the one who takes him down. Only I can stop him." William lets out a sigh. "Who am I kidding? I said the same thing to every counselor like 10 times. You won't understand."

Joseph leans in, his arms on the desk. "William, tell me something. Why do you fight against this bully?"

"It's because he doesn't leave me or anyone—"

"No. Why are you constantly fighting back? Surely, you entertain the thought of joining him, letting the pain end for you. So, why don't you?"

William is perplexed by the question. The Dean never asked him that, neither did any counselor he met. He knew the explanation to that kind of question once, but it escaped him after so many times of trying to explain himself.

"I—"

"Don't worry. Take your time."

William then pats the outside of his pocket, feeling the hozen, the last thing Felicity gave him before sending him off here. The words he wanted to say to the faculty before are coming to him now.

"My Dad is in jail. My Step-mother sent me here without asking what I wanted. To me, they've straight up abandoned me. A part of my life has been taken from me and I don't know if I can get it back. Doing this, protecting other students, it feels like—like—"

"Like you found something that is close to what your parents have done. Like your filling in that part of your life that you're missing and feel that this is the path you want to take."

William nods. "Yeah."

"Well, let me tell you something. I was a city boy, grew up in a bad neighborhood surrounded by people much worse than Noah. Criminals, drunks, corrupt politicians. I didn't have any fancy security systems like you did. I had to always be on my toes, fight back. For myself…and for my mother. When I lost her, it felt like I lost a piece of me that I wanted so desperately to fill. Eventually, I wanted to clean up my neighborhood, try to make it better than it was. All my efforts failed and, what you might do eventually, I wanted to give up."

"Did you?"

"I did, for a time. That was until, one day, I met with a local priest in a church just outside my neighborhood for answers." Joseph reaches into one of his jacket pockets and takes something out. "And he gave me this."

He shows it to William, who recognizes it as a Bible. He saw someone reading it once when waiting with his mom at a bus station, but he never knew what the contents of it were. He looks at it with a curious look.

"A Bible?"

"The Bible has been a source of answers for more than two thousand years William. With this and communion with God, I found my purpose in this world, what I was meant to do."

"And you helped your neighborhood?"

Joseph shook his head. "Oh no. It was far gone for me to help it on my own. I went in search of help and found people, people who saw my plight and helped me to do what I needed to do."

"Who are these people?"

"A story for another time." He extends the Bible over to William. "For now, I would like you to have this. I already bookmarked some readings I would like you to read and interpret for yourself."

William takes the book and puts it in his pocket.

"Okay, you may go now."

William looks at Joseph with surprise. "That's it? No lecture on how it's wrong to blame people for things that no one else has seen?"

"Oh, on the contrary. I believe you, William. My nephew has always been a troublesome child."

"Wait. Noah is your nephew?"

"And the person I worry about the most. His father was always focused on his work and his mother did the best she could for him. But it just wasn't enough.

"Then tell the Dean. He's your friend."

"That was the conversation we were having before you came in here, but he is a stubborn man, says he needs evidence before he can convict. It's the old lawyer in him, I think.

"Well, can you tell me how to deal with him?"

"No, I cannot. I learned best when I read and interpreted the scriptures myself. Being the smart kid I've been told you are, I'm sure you will too. The answer to dealing with Noah is in there somewhere. You just need to find it. I'll tell the Dean you learned your lesson. Go on now."

William gives a smirk. "Thanks."

"No problem."

William exists the office and heads directly towards his dorm room. His first priority, when he gets there, will be to read those readings Joseph bookmarked, hoping that what he told William about the Bible is right. _Maybe I will find how to expose Noah with this._

* * *

Samantha Watson lays down Diaz's file on her desk after telling her superior the details that Felicity gave to her earlier today.

"He took over the city's infrastructure."

"And then we dismantled it. He is not an immediate threat."

"He has new allies. One of them hacked into the CDC, it's security infrastructure specifically."

Her superior picks up the file to study its contents. "And you got all that from a photograph and an unsubstantiated hack?"

"It's the best lead we've got in months and you know it. We can't let this just slip away."

"Then give me something concrete and I can act on it. CDC security is airtight, and no one can get in without a level 5 clearance. I can't waste resources on something circumstantial."

"You mean on someone who dropped to number 27 on our most wanted list."

"That too. Tell the CDC they've been hacked, they can deal with it as they see fit. I need your focus elsewhere, agent."

Samantha Watson's superior drops the file on her desk and heads on out of the office. She is left looking frustrated that she got turned down. Just what Felicity wants to hear.

Felicity clicks out of the screen, looking up something else. After less than a minute, she sits up from the couch and walks off. "Rene, call up Dinah. I've got something."

 _Of course you do._ William, seeing the screens from both his time camera and Felicity's easily hackable bug, shifts the time camera's angle to take a look at what Felicity looked up. _The floor plans and inventory manifest for the CDC, currently occupied by the FBI. It seems Diaz has been keeping track of something called glutathione hydrate. Why go for medicine?"_ William hacks into the CDC himself, making sure to leave no trace and finds the ingredients for glutathione hydrate, with one ingredient standing out. _Mirakuru. Of course. They start experimenting with it medically around this time. Although it's in the prototype stages, but it seems to have almost none of the side effects of the original compound. What's more, this was originally created by Diaz during his drug trading venture. It's not as strong as the drug before it, but it can give Diaz his full strength and beyond even if he gets it._

He then looks at the screen with the future news clipping again, which says "Jackals overrun Star City." As much as he wants to stop Diaz from getting the hydrate, he has other priorities. _Felicity and the others can handle it. Besides, I should be done in time to stop Diaz from getting it if they fail._ _But right now, I'm at a loss._

William gets up from the chair and paces back and forth, wondering how to handle Curtis. _I already took a risk showing him and John what I look like. I've seen it in how they look at me. They're already starting to recognize me, but not completely. And I can't just reveal my whole identity to Curtis or John now. They might ask questions about the future and—_

He stops for a minute and looks to the Bible and the hozen next to it. The objects given to him by people who were concerned for him, who cared about him. He realized over the years that Felicity didn't push him away but tried to keep him safe. If he had a child who was in imminent danger, he would do the same in a heartbeat. He realizes now that he has been doing what his younger self thought Felicity did to others, at least others who turned out good in the future and chances are that they still will.

He gives a sigh of defeat. _But it's the best option I have and maybe my only option._

* * *

 _Curtis, you are our only option to getting—_ John shakes his head. _No, no. He's not going to help us with an apology like that. He'll think he's only a means to an end._

John then looks to the photo of him and everyone else at Oliver and Felicity's wedding party. _You always held this team together, Oliver. At least you used to before everything that happened last year. What would I do in your—_

Suddenly, as he looks over to William, who is just next to Oliver, his mind suddenly clicks something together. He can't help but see a few similarities between him and Connor. There are a couple of things, such as the beard, hair style and a few differences in facial structure, but those things can change as he gets older. He tries to imagine William growing up, developing into Connor overtime. The transition is seamless.

He leans back in his chair, feeling a mix of emotions swirling in him. He doesn't know how to feel right now, but he does know one thing: Connor Hawke is William Clayton from the future.

As William walks down the hallway, he can see Curtis working away at something on his computer. He knows, however, that Curtis is trying to find something that will keep him occupied and away from dealing with Wolfman. William stops at the door and gives a subtle sigh. _I've already risked enough with revealing myself. I just hope this isn't risking the future from changing more than it already is._

William opens the door and steps inside, but Curtis either doesn't notice or is ignoring him intentionally.

"Hello, Mr. Holt."

Curtis looks away from the screen and towards William, his glare already signaling that he is not happy to see him again.

"If you're here to try and rope me into catching Wolfman, you're out of luck. I told you, I'm out."

"I know." William walks over to Curtis' desk, seeing that he is working on a few pet projects for Helix, the company he and Felicity started together before Felicity turned it into Smoak Technologies. Memories start to seep in, but he immediately expels them and gets to his point.

"Listen, Mr. Holt—"

"Just…call me Curtis."

"Right, Curtis. I understand why you're reluctant to help. I know what happened to you guys last year with Diaz. Specifically,…what happened to Nick Anastas. It's hard to see someone you love almost die and not think 'what if that happened to me?'"

"Well I still think that. Here, behind the computer, I feel like I'm going to go home to him unscathed, not worried about him grieving for me when I die doing something reckless. Do you not get that feeling?"

"Of course I do. I have a dad and stepmom that I think about every day, that I worry about every day. Not a time goes by that I think I'll die before I see them again. But my Stepmom once told me that heroes don't always make it home, but we all have to make sacrifices. Sure, that means we have to live with the fear that anything can be taken from us in an instant. But our sacrifices show how deep we care for the ones we love…because we do it for them. For their safety, so we can go home to them, unscathed or not."

Curtis looks down at his keyboard for a minute and then turns his attention back to William. "You're Stepmom sounds like a brave but brash person."

William can tell that Curtis is nearly convinced, but not entirely. There's only one thing that can convince him now. Just a few words. "Felicity can be like that."

Curtis' fingers freeze before they can type another word. He looks at the monitor with confusion. "Wait. Felici—" His eyes widen, realization probably rushing into his head too fast for him to comprehend. He utters the question that William somewhat dreads anyone in this time would ask him. "William?"

William nods his head. He can only imagine the things going through Curtis' head right now, trying to process this new information. After about a few seconds, Curtis responds with his usual rambling. "Oh my god, this makes so much sense now. I mean, I suspected it earlier when I saw what you looked like, but you being the actual William changing the future. Wait a minute, we're changing the future right now by having this conversation, which means helping you in turn is-"

"Curtis!"

"Uh, right. Sorry, but…This is a whole lot to unpack. I mean, you're out there being the Green Arrow and I'm…" Curtis stops dead, his hysteric revelation dissipating into a look of guilt. "Oh my god. You're out there, sacrificing yourself for Felicity and Oliver, for us. You've been keeping us safe. Is that why you were reluctant to tell us who you were all this time?"

"Yeah. I was going to tell all of you when this was over. Right now, you guys, Star City, and your futures are my priority. But I've realized that I can't do everything alone. At least, not how I used to"

"You've done so much. You've been stopping at nothing to take down Diaz and now Wolfman and…I've been concerned for my own skin, backing out of something that you needed my help with." Curtis places his elbow on the table, placing his hand over his eyes. "Oh god, I'm such a jerk."

"You're not. Everyone is reluctant to do something outside their boundaries, a sacrifice they don't want to make, whether it's because of fear or selfishness. You admitting your reluctance shows that you're shaking off that fear. Some people don't have the backbone to do that."

Curtis nods his head. "You're right. You've sacrificed so much for us. Now it's my turn."

"And mine, too."

William and Curtis turn around and see John at the door. William didn't even hear him come in from talking to Curtis, but from the look on John's face and the fact that the glass is soundproof, William knows that he has already figured it out beforehand.

William bows his head a bit. "Of course you managed to figure it out on your own."

John walks up to William. "Well, it's not hard when you put two and two together, like the fact that you look a lot like your father." The way John says it sounds as if he's proud of that fact, or maybe just proud of William in general.

Curtis doesn't give off that same vibe. "Actually, the resemblance is kinda scare-"

Suddenly, the phone in William's pocket begins to ring, but not his cell phone. "It's the burner phone." William takes it out quickly and hands it to Curtis. "Curtis, you're on."

"Right." Curtis takes the phone, clears his throat to prepare his French accent, and presses the call button before bringing it to his ear. "Bonjour? Ah, Monsieur Wolfman. A pleasure to speak to you again…oui, I have the Green Arrow. I am looking at him right now…the offer still stands. When and where? Merci, Monsieur Wolfman. I will not be late. See you soon."

Curtis hangs up. "I've got the location. A Chinese restaurant in the Glades."

"Google it."

Curtis types in the address and moves the monitor to show William and John. William looks at photos of the interior, seeing tables and booths in a room big enough to seat more than 20 people. Still, William doesn't like what he is seeing. "This is too small for me to maneuver through with too many guards."

"Well you won't be alone. You'll have me and Curtis to back you up."

"Plus, I've been working on something for agents in case they get into close quarters situations. It can also store a weapon of your choosing."

"Good. I'll get my suit and meet you guys outside of A.R.G.U.S in a couple of hours."

"Oh, and Wolfman also told me the time of the meet. It's going to be 9:00 tonight."

"9:00 to-" William clenches his fists. "Dang it!"

John looks at him with a worried look. "What is it?"

"Diaz will be robbing the CDC that time. He's going to try to steal glutathione hydrate, a medicine which has one vital ingredient, Mirakuru. If he gets his hands on that and uses it-"

"Then Diaz can make himself stronger than he was before. Okay, which event makes the most impact?"

"Wolfman and the Jackals. If they get away, they take advantage of Star City's weak infrastructure within the month and take it over. Even if I dismantled it, the results will still be catastrophic."

"Okay, then we stop Wolfman quickly enough so we can stop Diaz afterwards. William, get your suit and meet us outside of A.R.G.U.S an hour before the meet. And have the gauntlets ready."

"Got it, Mr. Diggle." William starts to head for the door.

"And William?" William stops and turns to John, who smirks. "Call me John."

William smirks back and nods in acknowledgment. "See you guys soon." He walks out the door, rushing out to get himself ready and hoping that they can pull this off.

* * *

Dinah starts to walk out of her office at the mere mention of an offer to help. "If this is illegal, I don't want to hear about it."

Rene follows her with Felicity behind them. "Aw, D. Why do you always assume the worst?"

"You make it easy, Mr. Ramirez." Across from them is Samantha Watson, the FBI Agent who arrested Oliver in exchange for everyone else to obtain immunity from their vigilante lives.

Dinah walks right next to her but looks to Rene and Felicity, knowing they had something to do with this. "Okay, okay. What the hell is going on here?"

Felicity speaks up, "We know how to catch Diaz. And we need your help."

"I thought I made myself clear-"

"You did and then I set a trap at the CDC."

"How do you know about that?"

"I bugged your office." As Watson is about to lecture, Felicity cuts her off. "And I know, but hold the lecture, we're on a time crunch here. I back traced the Silencer's hack."

Rene leans in towards Felicity. "We're calling her the silencer now?"

"It's better than the belt lady."

"Noted." Rene leans away and allows Felicity to continue.

"She's been tracking inventory on a glutathione hydrate. It's a vial compound that helps protect red blood cells from diseases like Ebola and the Lassa fever. I mean god knows what creepy thing Diaz has planned for that, and the only place he can get it is the CDC."

"You do realize the CDC is a secure government facility? There are strict protocols, which-"

"Which makes it the perfect place. You know, to set a trap. The compound is being stored in a bio containment lab. Diaz walks in there, I seal the doors…" Felicity snaps her fingers for dramatic effect. "Diaz is locked in."

Rene chips in, "like that zombie movie. Or, really, any zombie movie."

Dinah is a bit intrigued by the plan, but she still has her doubts. "And when is this happening."

"Tonight. A shipment just came in from Central City."

"Well, I'll put a team together. If Diaz walks in there, the SCPD will be there to take him down."

"D, if Diaz gets a whiff of the police, it'll spook him."

Dinah knows where this is going. "Oh, right. You want to do it the vigilante way. Well, you probably shouldn't have invited her then."

Dinah points to Watson, but Rene and Felicity seem to know that. Otherwise, they would've thought twice about bringing her on board.

Rene shakes his head. "No Canary, no Wild Dog. Just us."

"And it technically wouldn't be off the books if Watson is on board."

"And go against my boss' order to stay away from the CDC?"

"Your boss is wrong, and you know it. Besides, it seems to me that if Diaz is brought in, all is forgiven."

"That's a big IF."

"Diaz has been a plague on the city and on our lives for too long, and now we have the chance to bring him down. We have to take it. It's been five months. The SCPD hasn't arrested him, neither has the FBI, neither has ARGUS. It's…it's time to try another way."

Dinah can't help but feel that Felicity's right but is hesitant to agree with this seeing as how they can get into trouble over this. She can see that Agent Watson feels the same way.

After a few seconds, Watson nods her head. "Fine." Felicity somewhat smiles, looking more relieved that Watson agreed than happy that she is on board. "But this is a one-time thing. Understand? And if anything feels off, I pull the plug."

Felicity nods in agreement. Rene, however, looks to Dinah, for she hasn't given her answer.

"What do you say, D?"

As much as Dinah dislikes the plan, she knows that this may be their one chance to catch Diaz for a while. If they get in trouble for it, then that's the sacrifice they have to make. She nods her head. "Fine."

Rene gives a smirk. "Let's go catch us a Dragon."

* * *

Oliver looks at the photo of his wife and son, the only item he was allowed to bring into the prison. Before, it served as a reminder of why he is in here, why he had to be on his best behavior. Now, they are the reason why he is risking his chances of early release. To find the Demon and make him pay for what he has done to him, for sending that message, and to find Diaz.

Suddenly, he hears the buzzing of his cell door. He looks up from the photo to see that it is now opening. _What the hell?_

He gets up, placing the photo on the table. He walks out of his cell and finds all the cell doors opening, the prisoners walking in the direction of the mess hall. The strangest thing of all is that there are no guards around to stop them from leaving.

The only one not heading to the mess hall is Stanley, who walks up next to Oliver. "Where are all the guards? What the hell is happening?"

"No idea. Brick must have something planned. Wait here."

Oliver walks over to the nearest set of stairs, remembering which cell Brick told him to find in order to talk to the Demon. He clutches his side, the pain still a bit burdensome. As he nears the stairs, he can hear Stanley walking up next to him. _Of course he doesn't listen to me._

"Where're you going?"

"To find someone."  
"I'll go with you."

"Your cell is the safest spot right now."

"With all these murderer guys? No way. I'm sticking by your side."

As they get to the stairs, Oliver turns to Stanley, seeing his point. With all of the doors open, he can be prone to attack. The safest place for Stanley is at Oliver's side.

"Okay."

Stanley gives a half smile, either because he's excited to be working with Oliver again or that he is safe. Either way, they walk up the stairs and start their search for the Demon.

* * *

The night is still, almost silent except for the far distant traffic. The two Jackals tap their boots, shivering a bit in the Fall breeze. They were told to wait outside to bring Nyambi Somto to show up with the Green Arrow and show him in, saying that he should be coming at any minute. It's 1 minute to 9:00, but these two aren't as patient as their boss.

Just as one of them is getting out a cigarette, both of them see headlights coming their way. As the lights get closer, they can see that it is a white van. Finally, the van stops in front of the restaurant and from the driver's window, they can see a man with an intimidating mask on, now turning of the motor and moving to the back of the van. The back doors open and out comes a man in a beige suit. Following suit is the Green Arrow in handcuffs being escorted by the masked man clad in black.

The man in beige stops in front of the two men. "My name is Nyambi Somto. I'm here to see Monsieur Wolfman."

One of the men presses the communicator in his ear. "He's here."

" **Bring him in."**

The Jackal takes his hand away from his ear and motions Mr. Somto to follow. While the guard lead the way, the other checks inside the van, to be sure there is nothing else to be concerned about.

* * *

From her laptop, Felicity and Watson can see and hear Diaz, who is carrying a container, probably a refrigerator unit. With him are two of the Longbow Hunters, the shield guy and the woman in red, walking down the hall to the bio containment lab.

" **Wonder where they keep the dead rats?"**

The woman in red scoffs at shield guy's question. **"So inhumane."**

After a little while, they lose sight of them for the cameras' views are limited. But that is why they have Rene in position and ready to follow them.

" **I have eyes on Diaz and a couple of his psychos."**

Watson leans on the table towards the laptop screen. "Any chance they left the third one at home?"

Dinah answers, **"It's doubtful. Silencer wouldn't want to miss this."**

" **They reached the lab. What the?"**

"What is it, Rene?"

" **Zombies just walked right in. No keycard or nothing."**

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Doesn't matter, just lock the doors."

Felicity tries to do just that, but all she gets is a message saying, "Code Protocol failed."

Felicity starts to panic. "Oh frack, frack, frack, frack."

" **Better sounds, Felicity."**

"Whatever opened the doors is blocking my access frequencies. It's some sort of sonic disruption."

" **Comm is still working."**

"Well, how about I save the details of how acoustic injection cyberattacks work for another time."

Once again, Dinah has the answer, **"The Silencer. She must've brought a new toy."**

"Can you turn it off?"

"I can't hack it, but I can track it."

As Felicity tracks the disruption, the view of the 3D layout moves away from the bio containment lab until it shows the location with a big and bright yellow dot. "She's in the northeast corridor heading for the mechanical room."

" **I'm on it, but once I catch up to her, it will be radio silence. Literally."**

" **Diaz is packing up. We have to hurry."**

Watson leans away from the table. "Okay. Time for plan B."

Felicity shoots up from the chair. "No, no, no. That's a big negative. Manual overrides are in the basement and again, no locks, no entry."

"I can't let Diaz escape."

"Are you crazy?! You can't beat them!"

"I don't have to. I just got to keep them in there long enough for you to lock those doors."

Watson heads out, Felicity now worried that this will go awry. It usually does. But she can't abandon the plan now. This may be the only time to catch Diaz or, if not him, one of the Longbow Hunters.

* * *

As they make their way up the stairs, Stanley starts to talk a bit nervously. "It's like one of those horror movies. So quiet, I can hear my heartbeat. Usually, the first person leading dies. But you won't die."

Finally getting up the stairs, Oliver turns to Stanley. "Look, if you're going to tag along, then you should do so quietly. Okay?"

Stanley's voice turns into a whisper. "Okay. Got it. There's 3B."

Stanley points to the cell door with "3B" above it. This one is different from the others. It has a blue, singular door, not the automatic sliding ones like Oliver's or Stanley's. These are usually used to house prisoners who aren't level 2 material, but still pose a threat to prisoners.

Oliver and Stanley slowly make their way to the cell door, making sure their footsteps do not make a sound. When they get to the door, Oliver slowly opens it, ready to finally meet the Demon face to face. That chance does not come.

He finds no one in the cell. The only things there are a couple of books on the table and bed. Oliver clenches his fist. _Damn it._ "Not here."

"So, what do we do? Just wait?"

"It'll be a long wait."

Both of them turn around, seeing Turner and two other inmates behind him. Oliver's blood starts to boil.

"Where's the Demon?"

"Hell, if I know." Turner chuckles. "You really thought Brick was going to help you? He got what he wanted, and now…" He raises one of his hands, flipping a shiv in his hand to a regular grip. "…He wants you dead."

Turner comes at Oliver with a horizontal swipe. Oliver blocks and directs the arm to make it easy to disarm the shiv. Before he could though, Turner kicks him back towards the bed. Thinking fast, Oliver grabs one of the books and uses it to block an incoming stab. Both struggle, Oliver to keep the knife away and Turner to push it forward into Oliver's neck.

Taking advantage of the situation, Oliver uppercuts Turner and shifts his focus on the two other inmates. The first one comes in with a couple of kicks, one Oliver blocks and the other he grabs, forcing the inmate to the ground.

The other inmate kicks Oliver while he isn't looking, forcing him outside the cell. The inmate tries to charge at him, but Oliver side steps out of the way and pushes him over the railing. The fall looks to be long, but the inmate doesn't land on anything that can result in a life-threatening injury.

The first inmate gets up and throws a couple of punches at Oliver. Oliver blocks the strikes and slams the inmate against the wall, leaving him incapacitated.

Turner, who has gotten his shiv out of the book, charges at Oliver again. Oliver grabs the wrist and the other arm, turning Turner around and pinning him to the wall. With the trapped wrist, Oliver brings it as close to Turner's neck as possible.

"Stanley, rip up the blanket into two ropes long enough to tie his wrist and ankles."

Oliver still keeps his focus on Turner but is confident that Stanley is doing as he is told.

"Done."

With Stanley's confirmation, Oliver brings Turner's wrist away and twists it just enough that he is forced to let the shiv go. He grabs it as it drops and once again brings it to Turner's neck.

"Hands down and behind you. Now!"

Turner does as he is told, lowering his hands and brought them close enough to be tied together. Stanley quickly ties the hands and ankles together, allowing Oliver to take a few steps away without worrying that Turner may try to do something.

"We had a deal!"

"A deal that means nothing now that Brick got what he wanted. With Yorke gone, we're finally free to have some fun. Brick's got a game going on right now in the mess hall, all thanks to you."

"First rule of prison: don't trust anyone."

"Ah, kid's right. Now, how'd he manage to figure that out before you did?"

"Fine. Brick was lying. There's no Demon."

"Oh, there is. But you don't summon the Demon. The Demon summons you."

"I'll take my chances."

"You're not getting it. The only way to the Demon is through Brick. There's a system. It's how this place works."

"Well…looks like I'm gonna force Brick to make good on his deal."

"Good luck. His event's invite only and you're not on the list."

Oliver takes a couple of steps forward, bringing the shiv close to Turner's neck. "And I'm guessing you are?"

* * *

As they walk into the restaurant, William cases the room around him. _Seven people. Six guards, including the one who escorted us in and the other outside, with Wolfman in the middle. All the tables are pushed to the side except the one with a laptop where Wolfman is. Bar counter on the right can serve as good cover. Door to the kitchen is a possible escape route. Need to make sure no one goes through there. If the plan goes right, then the six guards will be down in time for me to snatch Wolfman._

Wolfman looks up from the laptop he was on, a smirk across his face as he sees William in handcuffs. As planned, Curtis acts as if he's glad to see Wolfman.

"Monsieur Wolfman. A pleasure to see you at last."

"Likewise, and with what I wanted. And what's that?"

He points to the case in Curtis' hand. Curtis walks over and places it on the table. "One of my expertly crafted weapons that was…recovered from one of the ARGUS agents before it could reach their headquarters. Consider it as an apology for being…nearly empty handed." Curtis takes a few steps back.

"Fine. One moment." Wolfman looks back to the laptop, typing something in it, possibly a message telling Diaz that he has "the Green Arrow". A little more than 10 seconds later, Wolfman looks back to them. "The transaction has been paid in advance. I am to bring the Green Arrow to my client and the weapons will be ours." He walks away from the computer and stops just next to it. "But first…" He quickly draws his pistol. The rest of his men draw their weapons afterwards. "We need to clean up the corpses that are going to hit the floor."

Curtis puts his hands up while John, in his disguise, draws his weapon. William just looks on, feeling a bit stupid. _I should've seen this coming._

"I may have only called Mr. Somto, but I always like to know who I am dealing with and know my enemies…Mr. Holt and Mr. Diggle."

The last guard comes in and rushes to Wolfman. "No one else is in the van. It's just them, boss."

Wolfman scoffs. "Just the three of you? Brave, yet stupid. Tell me, what exactly was the plan? Come in here and trick me into letting my guard down?"

Curtis smirks. "Yes. And it's working wonders."

As he finishes his sentence, William presses the button hidden in his palm. The case springs open, revealing a turret loaded with non-lethal pellets. It starts shooting the guards one at a time, forcing their attention on it.

William quickly runs and ducks behind the counter and quickly dislocates his thumbs to slip the cuffs off. He raises his head up and sees Curtis hook punch one of the remaining guards and John trying to shoot at the leg of a retreating Wolfman. Remembering the location of the kitchen door, William quickly vaults over the counter and tackles and pins Wolfman onto one of the booths

As soon as Wolfman is pinned, William quickly employs a few punches to the helmet, the gauntlets feeling soft upon impact, but he can see the mask slowly coming loose. _Looks like they work._

William employs a hook punch, which proves strong enough to break off the mask, revealing an angry yet staggered Wolfman. He tries to go in for the knockout punch, but Wolfman blocks it and punches William in the face, forcing him to back away. Wolfman then kicks him back to the counter, allowing him to stand back up.

Before Wolfman can do anything else, John rushes in with a flying knee, knocking Wolfman away. Wolfman quickly gets back up and grabs John's arm, trying to throw him down to the ground. Instead, John resists and grabs Wolfman and they both wrestle to bring one or the other down.

"Arrow!"

William looks to Curtis, who throws a foldable compound bow and a net arrow to William. He grabs both and takes aim.

John, who notices even amid the wrestling, pushes Wolfman back and ducks, allowing William to shoot the arrow and trap Wolfman in a net. The force of the arrow knocks Wolfman down to the ground just next to the kitchen door. As Wolfman struggles to get out, John runs to Wolfman and punches him in the face, putting him down for good.

William breathes in a deep sigh, relieved that they managed to take down Wolfman. John takes his mask off and takes a deep breath, either glad that their mission is a success or to have the mask off since it was lifted from one of Somto's men and probably reeks of who-knows-what.

Curtis starts to laugh excitedly. "That was awesome! I mean, the turret shooting pellets, us doing a team takedown on Wolfman! God, I forgot how exciting this was! Well, the whizzing of bullets and possibility of dying still sucks. But still!"

John gives an smile. "Just like the good old days."

"Sorry to interrupt the reminiscing, but we still have an objective at hand."

John snaps his fingers. "Right." John taps on the comm in is ear. "This is Agent Diggle. Target is down. Send team for extract." After a few seconds, John gives a nod. "Thanks HQ. Diggle out." He turns to William. "Team's 30 seconds away."

"Good. Let's get going. Diaz may have breached the CDC already, but we can at least stop him before he gets away."

"Right."

They exit out of the restaurant, heading for the portable base with the intent of stopping Diaz before he gets away.

* * *

"I'm in the mechanical room." Dinah slowly makes her way inside, seeing nothing but machinery surrounding her, steam emanating from them. As she reaches the center of the room, the sounds of the machines and steam are silenced completely. To be sure that this isn't just because she's gone deaf, she taps her handgun on a barrel. No noise. _Silencer._

Dinah quickly turns around to shoot, but the Silencer directs the gun upward before the shot goes off. Silencer then goes in for a swing with her knife, but Dinah quickly back-steps out of the way. As Dinah tries to aim the gun again, Silencer pushes it to the side and disarms it.

The Silencer goes on the offensive, trying to stab Dinah anywhere she can. Dinah blocks each strike, the Silencer's speed making it hard to find any openings. With Dinah's hands high, the Silencer finds an opportunity to knee strike her a couple of times in the stomach, the first one making her stagger and the second forcing her back to a table.

Seeing that she needed something to help her go on the offensive, Dinah picks up a wrench and charges at Silencer.

* * *

Watson rendezvous with Rene Ramirez outside the bio containment lab, where Diaz is still collecting samples. She draws her gun, ready to go in and stop Diaz.

Before they do though, Felicity speaks up, **"Um, FYI guys, not all the chemicals in there are stable. One stray bullet and the whole place can go boom."**

 _Then I'll threaten them first. If that doesn't work, hand to hand combat will suffice._ With all of this in mind, they quickly make their way inside, aiming their guns at Diaz and the Longbow Hunters. "Freeze! FBI!"

Diaz doesn't turn around but seems to recognize her voice. "Agent Watson. I see you've reunited with some old acquaintances."

"Step away from the cooler Diaz and put your hands in the air."

"Can you please take care of them?"

The woman shoots what looks like needles at Watson and Rene, who run out of the way and into cover. Rene runs over to deal with the brutish man. Watson gets out of cover only for the woman to shoot at her again, the needles digging into the ballistic vest, but not deep enough to pierce the skin. Watson runs over to the side and quickly takes cover again. She then takes the needles off her vest. She prepares for the woman to close in on her position. Oddly enough, she hasn't.

Assuming that she has taken cover as well, Watson prepares to charge at the woman and gets out of cover, only to find Curtis Holt engaged in hand to hand combat with the woman, managing to put distance between him and her with a side kick. Watson looks to where Rene is, seeing John Diggle helping him out with the brute.

Watson looks to Curtis Holt. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

Curtis Holt looks back. "Saving your life. And stopping Diaz, of course."

The Woman gets back up, looking like she's about to fire more darts. Before she can though, Curtis Holt ducks under her, grabs her arm, and throws her in between him and Watson. They both engage the woman, their strikes giving her no room to maneuver outside the enclosed space they have made.

* * *

With the wrench, Dinah finds somewhat more opportunities for a kick or a punch, but not many. She changes up her strategy, going from deflecting the Silencer's knife to redirecting it in order to get a disarm. The redirections give her a different idea though. During the next redirect, Dinah grabs the wrist with both hands, employing a wrist throw. Dinah raises one of her legs for a kick, prepared to knock the Silencer out. However, the Silencer sweeps the leg Dinah balances on, forcing her to the ground as well.

The Silencer gets up on her knee, ready to deliver the killing blow. As she raises the knife, however, an arrow breaks through the blade, and a man that Dinah wished would never be here kicks the Silencer away. The Green Arrow, now in view, offers a hand to Dinah. She reluctantly takes it, still a bit grateful that he saved her, even if they are on opposite sides of the law.

Both their attentions quickly turn to the Silencer, who gets up and draws another knife from her satchel. The Green Arrow switches his bow from his left hand to his right, raising it high and keeping his left near his face. Dinah assumes a similar position, her left hand close to her cheeks with the wrench still in her right. The Silencer then comes in with a series of knife swings, switching fluidly from one target to another.

* * *

Rene and John, no matter how hard they try, can't seem to take down who William called Bear. He has the most resistance to pain, almost as much as Deathstroke on Mirakuru. Flying knees to the face, punches to the leg, anything they tried, Bear just shrugs it off and goes back on the offensive. Even when Rene tries to use his knife and John his rifle as a melee weapon, Bear blocks or deflects them in quick succession. The gauntlets William gave to John have some effect, but they don't seem to work as well as they did on Wolfman.

Eventually, Bear punched Rene hard enough to send him flying to the floor. He then tries to strike John with his shield, but John uses his rifle to block it. Both of them struggle to push each other away, with Bear winning. As John feels his strength waning, Bear retracts the shield, adding a small jump as he strikes again. The attack proves strong enough to break the rifle and also staggering enough to put John off balance. Bear comes in with a push kick, sending John flying above Rene and almost to the table at the end of the room.

Curtis and Watson fair better, but not a lot against the woman William called Red Dart. She proves to be competent with hand to hand combat, at least enough to stand toe to toe with an FBI Agent and an ex vigilante. Her strikes aren't as strong as Bears', but her fluid movements from blocking to countering are fast enough to keep up with both of them at the same time.

Red Dart is more acrobatic, given the way she grabs and spins around Watson to try and get her in a hold. Watson reacts by throwing her to the ground before she gets that chance. As Watson tries to get up, Red Dart throws out a low sweep kick to the face, knocking her down.

Curtis goes in with a flip that forms into a kick, but Red Dart manages to move out of the way before it makes impact. As Curtis and Watson get up and prepare to go for another attack, they are stopped by Diaz, who aims his gun at them.

"Play time's over!"

Diaz, instead of shooting at the group, shoots at the chemical canisters near them. They retreat and take cover behind the table before the chemical canisters start to disperse gas, blocking their way to Diaz and the Longbow Hunters.

"Let's go!" Diaz, Bear, and Red Dart rush out of the room and towards the exit.

Rene and Watson tap on the comms on their ears, probably receiving new information from Felicity.

Rene turns to John. "The Silencer's still in the mechanical room."

"Okay, we'll get Diaz. You help Dinah. Go!" John avoids saying the Green Arrow with Watson in the room, knowing how much trouble they'll get into if she knew he tagged along. Rene rushes towards the mechanical room while John, Curtis, and Watson head to the exit, hoping to stop Diaz in time.

As they get to the exit, they find the doors cracked open and the sound of a vehicle that fades as it gets farther and farther away. John expresses frustration, his face snarling and his fists clenching while Curtis rubs his eyebrows with his finger and thumb, disappointed that they couldn't stop Diaz this time. But he is not entirely mad because they at least captured Wolfman.

Watson doesn't display anything, keeping her emotions in check. She just utters the bad news, probably to Felicity who is on the other line. "They got away."

* * *

Dinah keeps deflecting the knife with the wrench and now attacks with it too, the Green Arrow's help keeping some of the pressure off her. The Green Arrow attacks anywhere he can, from the head to legs, while the Silencer tries to manage both of them at once. Eventually, Silencer overextends one of her vertical reverse knife strikes. The Green Arrow traps the arm, swinging his bow at the clenched hand and forcing her to disarm the knife. He then grabs Silencer's arm and throws her as he kneels down.

Dinah and the Green Arrow push the offensive, forcing Silencer to constantly be on the defensive with no opportunities to strike. They keep up the attacks, eventually pushing her into the shelf behind her. When they try to go in for a simultaneous punch to the face, Silencer dodges it and rolls to the side. She gets up quickly and grabs the side of the shelf, pulling it onto the Green Arrow and Dinah.

They both run as fast as they can. The Green Arrow breaks out into a roll and makes it to safety before the shelf crashes down. Dinah, however, is not fast enough, the shelf trapping her by the legs.

The Green Arrow, his focus being on the Silencer, tries to reach in for an arrow, but the Silencer picks up Dinah's gun before he can do so. The Silencer reaches for her belt and turns the knob, the sounds of machinery and steam once again filling the air.

As her finger pulls slightly on the trigger, Silencer smiles. "This is going to be fun."

Before she can shoot, a knife comes flying in and impales the back of her shoulder. Dinah looks back as far as she can, getting a glimpse of Rene, who has his hand extended like it would be when throwing something.

Green Arrow, who probably saw Rene come in, doesn't hesitate to charge at Silencer. She switches the handgun to her other hand and aims it. By that time though, Green Arrow is already close enough that he is able to grab the gun, punch her, and pull it away from her hand.

As the gun is taken from her, Silencer quickly reaches into her pocket and throws a smoke bomb on the floor, blinding Dinah and the Green Arrow. Dinah barely makes out the figure of Rene through the smoke, probably asking if the Green Arrow is all right. The Green Arrow just points in a direction, probably to where he believes the Silencer has ran off to. Rene seems to hesitate, but the Green Arrow pushes him along, so he goes.

As the smoke clears up, the Green Arrow leans down to where Dinah is pinned and grabs the shelf. "Listen, on 3, I lift, you push. Okay?" Dinah nods. "Good. Okay. 1. 2. 3."

With all her might, Dinah pushes the shelf while the Green Arrow lifts it, the shelf feeling lighter on her legs bit by bit until she feels that she can move.

"Okay, now go. Go!" Hearing that he is straining under the shelf's weight, Dinah moves quickly until her whole body is out of the shelf's area. The Green Arrow lets go, the shelf making a thud as it abruptly comes back down.

The Green Arrow breathes a bit heavily, sounding somewhat exhausted. He turns to Dinah. "You all right?"

Dinah wants to say that she is okay, but then she remembers that she is not talking to Oliver Queen, but a copycat. "If you hadn't saved my life, I would be turning you in right now."

"Yeah, you're okay." Suddenly, a beeping is heard from where the Green Arrow is. He looks at his gauntlet as if looking at a display. She can't tell how he feels given that his eyes are covered by white lenses, but his frozen state and shaking hand tell her that he is looking at something bad. That, and the repeating "No's."

"What is it?"

The Green Arrow drops her handgun. "I have to go."

"To where?"

"I just need to go!"

He gets up, beginning to run as if in a rush. Before he gets far, Dinah speaks up, "Stop!" He does as she says, turning quickly. "This was a one-time thing. The next time we meet, I will turn you in."

"Don't count on it."

The Green Arrow resumes his run, heading towards where Rene entered. As much as she wants to go after him, the Silencer is the top priority. She gets on the comms to both Rene and Felicity.

"Rene, did you find Silencer?"

" **I'm sorry D. She…she got away."**

The statement starts to worry her. "Felicity, can you confirm?"

" **Yes. Yes, I can confirm that she got away. I'm sorry. We failed."**

Dinah bows her head and puts her forehead on her curled leg. _We failed. We did all of this and we failed. Of all the god damn…_ Dinah lifts her head up, her brow raised. _Wait. Rene sounded…hesitant when he said that the Silencer got away. But, it wasn't the type that expressed disappointment, more like holding something back. And Felicity, she responded and talked quickly. Too quickly._ _Is there something they know that I don't?_

She waves her hand. _It's too late anyways. If Silencer is gone, nobody will find her. But I should keep an eye on Felicity and Rene. I just hope they won't do anything reckless or stupid._

* * *

John walks into the portable base, feeling defeated. He sees Curtis on the computer, trying to find at least a trace of Diaz or the Longbow Hunters. The only one not here with them is William.

"Anything Curtis?"

"No, they're using a jammer that's hiding them from the satellite. By the time I bypass it, they'll be long gone."

"Any word from William?"

"Actually, yeah. He said he had to go. Something about going to Slabside to stop a catastrophe."

"Slabside? It's miles from the city and the only thing of worth there is…Oliver. Redirect the satellite over Slabside now and patch William through."

"On it."

Curtis quickly gets to work, getting a satellite image of Slabside prison. He activates thermal imaging, seeing a large concentration of people in one area. Away from that area are three other dots making their way there. Far from them is one lone dot.

"There. That has to be William."

"How did he get there-you know what, forget it. Patching through…now."

* * *

William waits in the shadows, seeing his dad, Stanley, and Turner make their way towards the mess hall. _Just wait till they get there. Afterwards, I'll jump in and…_

" **William, do you copy?"**

The sound of John's voice can be heard in his comm. _Of course they tracked me and patched into my earpiece._

William tries to not sound mad about it. "I copy."

" **You just left with barely an explanation. How are you at Slabside?**

"Breach beacon. I placed them in every place of importance when first coming to this era. "

" **Okay, but why are you at Slabside?"**

"Because there's a chance my father may die."

" **What?!"**

"After my fight with the Silencer, I got a time alert. A newspaper article says he dies tonight in a brawl with an inmate. I can't take the chance. I'm sorry."

" **No, no. It's alright. But at least give us a heads-up next time."**

"There wasn't time to. Besides, I can do this one on my own. You guys have done enough."

" **Hey William. Uh, Curtis here. Even if you can take on the entire prison, the best approach is to stop Oliver from going towards the place where the bad guys are."**

"I can't. Diaz has an informant in the prison and Brick is the only one who knows where he is. I just need to keep Dad alive. If the Demon exists, he or she can lead us to Diaz."

" **Well, at least let me tell you what you're walking into."**

"Probably the entirety of Slabside's inmates."

" **And finest. About eight security guards are spectating the whole thing."**

"Spectating what?"

" **Looks like…a fighting event?"**

"The brawl. That's probably where Dad dies and…wait. They're just outside the hall to the mess hall. They're releasing Ben Turner."

" **He must be their best bet in. Keep your comm on. We'll be able to hear everything you hear."**

"Copy John. Their going through the hallway. Moving up."

William creeps through the large cell block and positions himself against the wall his dad was previously. He peeks out into the hallway a bit, seeing his dad and the others make their way inside past two other inmates.

"They're inside. Two inmates are blocking access."

" **Can you find a way around?"**

"No, but I have something that can help."

William takes out a sleeping gas arrow. Seeing that they are still closing the door, he waits until it is completely shut. Seeing the metal door come to a stop, he quickly comes out of cover and shoots the gas arrow in between the two men. The gas quickly disperses, knocking them both out while not raising any suspicion.

When the gas is completely gone, he heads into the mess hall, hoping that he is not too late to save his dad.

* * *

As Oliver enters the mess hall, he and Stanley see inmates surrounding the center of the room, which is signified by the four tables being used as barriers, cheering something on. As they get closer, they see Sampson punching another inmate almost to death.

While Turner loses himself in the crowd, Oliver and Stanley move closer to the center. The inmate on the floor is dragged out, leaving a snarling, heavy breathing Sampson alone in what Oliver deduces is a makeshift boxing ring.

"Gentlemen, Gentlemen!" Oliver hears Brick's voice above him. He turns to where Brick is, seeing him with his hand raised to ask for silence. "We've got an unexpected treat for you tonight. A once in a lifetime matchup. Our champion, Sampson, vs the Green Arrow!"

Brick points to Oliver and the entire crowd cheers for the spectacle they think they're going to see. Oliver looks to Sampson, who smirks, probably thinking this is the night he gets vengeance for Oliver putting him in jail. Oliver, however, does not want to satisfy anyone's need for a spectacle. He has something to do.

"I don't have time for this."

He walks over to the table below the railing of the second level, thinking of using it as a platform for him to get up to Brick. The other inmates, however, get in his way.

"Where you goin' Arrow?"

Oliver looks to Sampson again, rolling his neck and clenching his fists in anticipation. Oliver then spots Turner, who is smiling. _Turner knew this would happen, didn't he? He knows that the only way I get to Brick is by fighting Sampson first._ Oliver gives a subtle sigh before stepping back into the makeshift ring. _Guess I have no choice._

"You ready for a rematch?"

"Last time didn't end so well for you, Sampson."

"This time, I'm gonna kill you."

Stanley gives Oliver a pat on the shoulder. "You're better than this guy Oliver. You can take him." Oliver somewhat appreciates Stanley's optimism.

"Gentlemen, place your bets."

Oliver looks back up to Brick, who is dealing money with the guards, most probably on who will win this. Oliver now sees why Yorke was a threat to Brick. He was the only guard who would shut this whole thing down.

When Oliver looks back to Sampson, he is already charging in. Sampson tackles Oliver and pins him to the table. Sampson then comes in with a flurry of punches, which Oliver manages to block except one, which hits his shiv injury.

His side feels like it's on fire. Oliver punches Sampson away so he can check on the wound. But before he can, Sampson comes back and picks him back up, ready to hook punch him right in the face. Before Sampson even has the chance to do so, a gloved hand grabs his arm and an arm covered in green leather puts him in a choke hold and pulls him away.

As Sampson is thrown to the ground, Oliver can see that the person that saved him is… _the new Green Arrow?_ Sampson tries to get up, but the Green Arrow kicks him away, forcing him back down. The Green Arrow doesn't attack him further, instead retreating to Oliver.

The crowd of inmates either remained silent or booed in the new Green Arrow's presence. Stanley seemed either ecstatic or shocked, but it was hard to tell.

Brick, however, seemed excited. "Well, gentlemen. This night just keeps getting more and more exciting. We got ourselves a GREEN ARROW TAG TEAM!"

The Green Arrow turns to Oliver, who is struggling to stand. "You all right?"

Oliver nods, but the pain is still somewhat hard to bear. The Green Arrow seams to note this, taking out an arrow and cigarette lighter and handing them to Oliver.

"Use these to cauterize the wound then get back in quickly. I'll hold him off." The Green Arrow walks back to Sampson, getting himself into a fighting position.

Stanley rushes to Oliver's side. "Here. Let me." Stanley takes the lighter and arrow. He lights the tip of the arrow, the metal absorbing the heat in a matter of seconds. He then applies the arrow gently, the heat feeling more painful than the wound itself.

While Stanley does this, Oliver tries to keep his mind off the sting of the heated arrow by watching the Green Arrow in action. He seems to be testing his opponent first, throwing jabs and quick kicks, nearly dodging every attack Sampson does.

Eventually, Sampson manages to get the Green Arrow with a tackle, forcing him back towards one of the tables. The Green Arrow, however, adapts to this, wall running on the table and throwing both him and Sampson to the ground. Both get up and Sampson goes in for another tackle. The Green Arrow, however, manages to keep himself planted, taking the tackle's full force. They now wrestled for control.

Oliver stops spectating to check on his wound, seeing that it has been cauterized. He nods to Stanley. "Thanks."

Oliver looks back to the ring, noticing that Sampson has pinned the Green Arrow to the table. Acting quickly, Oliver rushes in and pulls Sampson away. He then pins Sampson to the table, just next to the Green Arrow. Sampson tries to fight back, but the Green Arrow grabs his arm, allowing Oliver to punch Sampson a couple of times in the face before grabbing the other arm. Both of them force Sampson off of the table and onto his knees.

Both say in unison, "Yield!"

Sampson doesn't turn to either of them, but he snarls at the ground. "Never!"

Oliver looks to the Green Arrow, who nods at him, signaling that they are on the same page. Seeing that pinning him down won't be enough to make sure he doesn't fight again, they both dislocate his shoulders. Sampson screams out in pain, lying on the floor as his arms are let go, struggling to get himself up.

All the prisoners and guards fall silent at the duo's victory, except for Stanley. "That was awesome!"

"Quite the performance" Oliver and the Green Arrow look up at Brick. "Let me tell you a little secret. Duo or not, my money was always on you, Queen. You're a hard man to kill."

Having enough of his games, Oliver runs up to the table and runs off it to get to the upper level. The Green Arrow follows suit, using a rope arrow to get up top quicker. They go over the railing, Oliver grabbing Brick by the shirt and bringing the shiv to Brick's throat while the Green Arrow aims an arrow, rotating left and right at the guards now aiming at them.

Oliver moves the shiv closer to Brick. "Stand down!"

Brick motions his hands downwards, telling the guards to lower their weapons. They do as they are told.

"Mr. Queen, get the information you need, then get back to your cell."

Oliver nods in acknowledgement and turns back to Brick. "No more games. Tell me where to find the Demon." Brick doesn't answer. "Brick. Don't make me ask you again."

Brick just chuckles. "I made you run around, doing errands for me like my grandmother's springer spaniel. And do you know the best part? You'll never get to the Demon because you're on the wrong level. He's in level 2, and only the worst of the worst go down there. That's just not you, isn't it…Arrow?"

"Mr. Queen." Oliver turns to the Green Arrow. "Let me find the Demon. Don't do anything you'll regret."

Oliver lowers his shiv, looking at it, then at the guards, then at the Green Arrow. He considers every possibility of what may happen if he lets the Green Arrow find the Demon. Can he do it? Will the Demon get spooked if he finds out the Green Arrow is searching for him?

"Mr. Queen. Give me the shiv. Let me take the lead."

The Green Arrow relinquishes his bow and arrow and stretches his hand out, showing a sign of trust towards Oliver. Looking at the shiv and the Green Arrow once more, he knows what path to take now.

Oliver lets go of Brick and takes a couple steps forward, coming into arm's length of the Green Arrow, who is ready to take the shiv. Just as he is about to grasp it, Oliver outstretches both hands and grasps the back of the neck and employs a knee strike to the Green Arrow's stomach, forcing him to lean down.

"I'm sorry." Oliver reaches into the quiver for a rope arrow and attaches it to the back of the belt. "But I can't take any chances."

Oliver s the arrow to the ceiling and then throws the Green Arrow from the upper level, letting him dangle just above the ground. His attention then turns to the guards.

He walks towards Dunbar, kicking the guard next to him to the wall. He grabs Dunbar's arm before it can reach for his baton, cuts it and then slams his head on the railing. He walks over to the next pair of guards, one of them charging in and preparing to punch him in the face. As it comes towards him, he ducks down, employs a punch of his own, and stands back up to deliver a hook punch, knocking the guard out.

He walks up to the last guard who just stands there, trembling. As he gets closer, the guard tries to flee, but Oliver grabs him and stabs him in the shoulder, then follows it up with a hook punch.

Oliver looks at the damage he has done. He looks at the guards, bruised and bloodied, and his shiv, laced with blood. Among the damage is the Green Arrow, standing on the opposite side of the railing, looking at Oliver. Though Oliver can't tell how he feels since his eyes are covered with white lenses and his face is covered with another mask, he is no doubt either terrified, shocked, or both.

Oliver drops the shiv, feeling guilt overwhelm him immensely. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. This was the only way he could get to Level 2. He had to do this to get to the Demon.

Snapping out of his guilt, he sees four more guards heading his way. He looks back to the Green Arrow, still gazing upon him.

"Go. Get out of here."

"I-"

"GO!"

Hesitantly, the Green Arrow drops down to the lower level of the Mess Hall. The last thing Oliver hears down there is the opening and closing of the metal door leading into here, telling Oliver that the Green Arrow has left the room.

The guards surround Oliver, guns in hand. He kneels and puts his hands behind his head, knowing what is next for him. Brick stands there and chuckles, amused by the choice Oliver has made, something Oliver hates. To Oliver, this is the ultimate sacrifice for his family. The way that he can keep them safe.

* * *

The instant William gets out of the breach, he lets go of the bow. He quickly pulls off his hood and face mask. He also takes of his eye mask, throwing it at the computer monitor. He switches the comm off, wishing for neither Curtis or John to talk to him. He just wants to be left alone after everything that has happened.

He walks over to the bed and sits on it, giving himself, for once during this night, a chance to just stay still and process. He doesn't cry, nor does he become angry. He just breathes heavily, his hands grasping the side of the bed.

He doesn't think to himself. He doesn't speak anything out loud. He just breathes, the events just playing out in his head over and over. Something about it is pulling at his brain, but he can't focus on it from the shock he is feeling.

William, after a minute, manages to get his breathing under control. He then closes his eyes, the thought in his brain now focusing, revealing it to be a memory. Specifically, it is the memory of the first reading in the Bible he ever got invested in. He then lets out an uneasy chuckle. _I guess even biblical history can repeat itself._

He then looks up, seeing something he didn't see when he first came in. It was a white tarp, hiding what looks like a chair. _Can it be?_

He gets up from the bed, walking to the chair. As he gets closer, he sees a note taped to the tarp, which says, "As requested." William smirks, glad that she came through on this.

He removes the tarp, revealing the one thing that will allow him to contact his dad when he is in Level 2. What he had planned in case something like what he saw were to happen. He finally has…Devoe's chair.

"Thanks, Nora."

* * *

"Come on Will. You've been looking at that thing the whole day. How about you focus on the homework we're supposed to be doing?"

William looks up from the Bible Joseph Blackfire gave to him, his roommate, Billy Batson, ready to do their project.

"It's not due for another week. Besides, I have to read this anyways as proof to the principle that I listened to Mr. Blackfire."

"Look, if this is about finding answers to stop Noah, you won't find them in there. You've tried everything else. What else can that give you?"

William just looks back to the Bible. He is still on Genesis, skimming over a few of the reading marked by Joseph Blackfire, which were on how God created the world and Noah's Ark, among others. He is about to do the same for this one…

…but, as he does, he actually finds it interesting. Not just the story it tells, but he can immediately find the underlying theme. It's similar to something Felicity once told him way before his dad got sent to prison, what helped accept him as the Green Arrow. He goes back to the beginning, reading it carefully.

"And now I've lost you. Fine, we'll do it tomorrow, but not after."

"Uh, sure Billy. Tomorrow."

William reads it about three times before he goes to bed. He now knows what he must do, what he hasn't thought of in a long time because it would've been the last thing he'd ever do. _Wow. Mr. Blackfire was right. This does have the answers._

* * *

John sits in his office, filing the report on their successful capture of Kane Wolfman, and the excuse on how they knew a theft at the CDC was happening. Just as he saves it to the servers, he hears the door open. He looks up to see William, seemingly fine after everything that Curtis and John heard over his comm, which implied that Oliver killed or injured people just to find an informant.

"Is this a bad time?"

John smiles. "Not at all."

William closes the door and approaches the desk.

"You didn't try to find me last night."

"I thought it was best to just leave you alone, let you process everything that happened."

"Well, I did need to be alone, so thanks. I haven't seen Curtis on my way in."

"He's been given a new assignment, but he wanted me to give you his regards…and his thanks for giving him the courage to get back onto the field."

"Does this mean he'll do more of it?"

"Maybe. Depends on how he feels."

There is a bit of a pause between them. John wants to ask if William is fine, but worries that he is still recovering from seeing something that is possibly traumatic for him.

Luckily, William brings up another subject. "So…what happened after the CDC?"

"Well, it turns out Agent Watson had everything riding on it, including her career. The op wasn't approved by her superiors. So-"

"They fired her."

"Yeah, but somebody hired her afterwards, or so Felicity told me. Hank Heywood."

"Heywood? And in Nathan's father?"

"Yeah. Apparently, he saw her talent and wanted to hire her for a while. She seemingly wanted it too since she had no qualms with being fired."

"Does she still have connections to the FBI?"

"She may still have friends, but I don't know how many. For all I know, any connections she still has are waning fast."

There is another pause. There isn't anything else he can talk about with William besides what happened last night.

So, he tries to slide into the conversation gently. "Look, if you're a little shaken from last night-"

"No, my Dad didn't kill anybody." William says this as if he knew the conversation was going to happen eventually. "He just roughed them up enough to warrant going down to Level 2, whatever that is."

John tries to keep the conversation going, possibly to save William from the trauma of remembering the event. "Yeah, Curtis looked it up, but it's not on any official records."

"Which means that it's an illegal pet project, most likely. But I knew something like that would happen, so I made a contingency plan. A device that can let me talk to Dad telepathically."

He doesn't question the existence of something like that. He thinks anything like that can exist now. "Will it work?"

"Systems are up and running and the range is better than expected. I just have to test it."

"Good."

Even with all the information they are exchanging, John can't help but want to ask if William is feeling all right. William seems to notice and is probably letting John take the time to ask.

After one more pause, John just gets to the point. "Well, even with all that good news, I just want to know if you're okay."

"I am now. Thanks."

"I know it must have been horrific to you, seeing your Dad injure a few guards just so he can find information."

"It was, at first. But as I was processing the information…something about it tugged at my brain. It took me a while to realize that it reminded me of the first reading from the Bible that got me into Catholicism. One I found relatable."

"Which one?"

William smiles. "The story of Abraham and Isaac."

* * *

Oliver sits in his cell, legs crossed, waiting for the guards to escort him down to Level 2. He can hear multiple footsteps in unison heading his way. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath, assuring himself once again that he is doing this for his family.

 _"Abraham, under the command of God, took one of his sons, Isaac, up to an alter to be offered up as a sacrifice."_

Oliver opens his eyes, seeing Dunbar and a few guards in protective armor ready to escort him.

As his cell door opens, Dunbar takes out some handcuffs. "Let's go 4587. You're going downstairs."

Oliver gets up, letting Dunbar restrain him and escort him away.

 _"Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac in the name of God, even took up the knife without hesitation. But just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, an angel appeared, saying that God's command was only to offer up Isaac to God, a test of Abraham's faith."_

As Oliver leaves his cell, he turns and looks at Stanley, who looks scared and sad that Oliver is being taken away. Oliver bows his head, a reminder to Stanley to keep his head down, avoid eye contact. The two essential things he needs to survive.

 _"So, instead of Isaac, Abraham sacrificed a nearby ram, which was stuck by its horns in a thicket. For showing his faith to God by offering up his son, he was blessed."_

As he walks away from his cell, he sees Sampson, his arms in casts, looking at Oliver with contempt. The next person he passes, Brick, is as amused as he was the night before.

"Good luck, Queen. The only way out of Level 2 is through the Morgue."

Oliver doesn't react. He just keeps walking, knowing that what he is doing may kill him, but it means that he may find Diaz and save his family.

" _Are you saying that Oliver is Abraham and you're Isaac?"_

* * *

" _I'm saying that anyone would do anything for someone that they love. Some would do what Abraham did, showing their faith to be true by finding something else to sacrifice in another's place. But some people don't do that."_

"This was a bad idea, Felicity."

"We didn't have a choice."

"Look, I'm not a fan of Agent Watson, but we got her in trouble."

"We didn't make her do anything, Rene. We've been sitting and waiting for the law to catch Diaz, but I am tired of waiting."

"I get that, but isn't this going too far?"

"Isn't this what we've been doing? Stepping in when the system doesn't work? Isn't that the whole vigilante M.O.? Sometimes, you have to cross the line for that."

"Nobody believes that more than me. But I'm not sure that's what this is."

Rene points to their new prisoner, Silencer, as he and Felicity reach the main floor of the refinery they are using to keep her locked up in. So far, she has not tried to free herself, and Felicity hopes to keep it that way.

 _"Some of us make the sacrifices that, while we think it shows our faith, end up harming others more than it helps. Often these kinds of sacrifices are fueled by something else…"_

* * *

 _"…Especially by hatred against those who have wronged us."_

As the Deacon watches over their target, someone opens the door. The Deacon sees Ricardo, looking like he hasn't had a scratch on him. This either meant two things: the mission went very well, or it didn't happen at all. The Deacon hopes for the former.

"It's done."

"Prove it."

Immediately after saying this, Ricardo turns to the wall next to him and punches a crater into it, showing off his newly acquired strength. The Deacon smiles under his mask. _There may be hope for you yet, Ricardo._

* * *

"What about you then, William? You think you've been making the good sacrifices?"

"I've done a bit of both in my lifetime, some without knowing and some that I was aware of. It took me a long time to find out the difference between the two. But I believe that what I do is the noble sacrifice…Thanks for the talk, John."

William turns to leave, but John stops him.

"Wait." William's hand stops before it grabs the handlebar. "Even if it is the noble sacrifice, it doesn't have to be one you can take up alone. I can't help you 24/7, but there are others who can."

William gives a subtle sigh. "I know who you're referring to, and I can't."

"William-"

"I've taken a big risk just telling you and Curtis who I am. I can't take the same risk with everyone else. Time is a delicate thing and I can't risk breaking it or have everyone try to prevent the future just to end up making it happen."

"You're underestimating them. You know Felicity, and Rene and Dinah-"

"Felicity is driven by an obsession to take down Diaz. Dinah is more concerned with keeping the Police force in check rather than taking risks to save the city. And Rene…Rene is another story." William sighs once again, probably to just let out a bit of frustration. "Look, I appreciate your concern, but I can't just go around telling everybody I'm from the future. There are just too many risks, including how everyone is conducting themselves. Goodbye, John."

William rushes out before John can argue further. John rubs his eyes and gives a sigh of his own. _Whelp, now I know two more things William and Oliver have in common. They're both stubborn and would put their lives on the line to keep everyone else safe._

Realizing that going after William and convincing him to find help may be pointless, he just goes back to work, looking over the information that Curtis found on Wolfman's laptop. He looks at the painting that was sent with the money, which still puzzles him. All they know is the painting's name: "Dante, He Hath Seen Hell."

* * *

The Dean goes over the other complaints about bullying in school that, once again, do not have any evidence to support it. As he is about to click out of the document, a knock on the door grabs his attention. He looks up from the computer to see William.

"I suppose you came here to tell me something?"

William steps inside and shuts the door. "Yes, sir. I…I came to apologize for my behavior. You're right. There is no bully. I made it up to vent my frustrations on someone else."

The Dean is taken somewhat aback. "Well. I'm glad you told me this."

"Just wanted to make sure you knew that. And you should also know that I will stop trying to find false leads on Noah. I'm going to try to befriend him."

"That's good to hear. Thank you for telling me this and…I'm glad you came to this decision."

"Well, Mr. Blackfire really had an influence on me, you know."

"I hoped he would. Anything else?"

William shakes his head. "No sir."

"Good. Goodbye William."

"Bye."

William leaves the office. The Dean sits there for a moment, knowing that his suspicions are confirmed. William said exactly what he needed to hear as proof. Proof that the information given to them was indeed the truth. William did exactly as she said he would do.

Without haste, the Dean gets on his cell phone to contact the Deacon and give him the news.

 **"Yes?"**

"Deacon, this is Dante. The information we got was right. William lied right to my face. He's probably going to make one last push to stop Noah…and complete our test. What do we do when he does?"

 **"We take him by force. The good news is that we know what he will try to do. This time, we will have him, and the recruit his mother once promised us will be ours."**

"As you say, Deacon. So long."

Dante hangs up, a sinister smile on his face. He turns his attention to the computer monitor again, clicking out of the document and looks through the security cameras, seeing William "befriend" Noah. _Seeing how William will complete our test is going to be fun._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Feel free to favorite this if you like it so far and leave a review. Also follow to keep up to date when a new chapter comes up.**


	5. Episode 4: Father and Son

**Author's notes:** Hello Readers! I know I said that in the last chapter that I would let the questions you left be answered through the story, but there is one more thing I would like to answer that I have seen often enough. I've seen some reviews that believe that William is a placeholder for Emiko and emulate her behaviors from the show.

Without spoiling anything, everyone reading should know that William is not just a placeholder for Emiko. Even though he is going through some of the same events as Emiko, He is an entirely different character with different motivations. You will see this as the story goes along. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references from DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _With my father, Oliver Queen, in an unknown part of Slabside prison,_

 _I must ensure that he makes it through the trials ahead of him_

 _To do so, I must be someone else_

 _Be something else_

 _I am the new Green Arrow_

* * *

Episode 4: Father and Son

* * *

As William and Noah head towards William's dorm room, Noah counts the money they've made from the student's they have "threatened."

"You just landed us the biggest score yet. How you convince them every single time, I might never know."

"Why exactly do we need this money? We get all our lunches for free since we're not juniors or seniors. The only thing we use that for are snacks and laundry."

"Well William, it's all about planning ahead. When we graduate or get expelled, we're pretty much have a foundation to live our own lives, away from our families. I know you'd like that as much as me."

William can't believe that this is Joseph Blackfire's nephew. For one, his physical appearance is different from that of Blackfire's. Noah has red hair and a subtler southern accent then that of his Uncle's. Besides that, he's cruel and quick to violence. _No wonder Mr. Blackfire is worried._

"So, since you've proven yourself to be a reliable friend, I think it best if we put you through one final trial. A trial of trust, if you want to call it that."

"What is it?"

"I'll give you the details tomorrow. For now, I have to go back to my room and stash this in the secret spot."

"You mean—"

"Shhh. Not out here, you idiot. Do you want everyone in the hallway to hear?"

"Uh, no."

"Good. See you tomorrow then. 'Night."

"Goodnight."

Noah takes off, still looking at today's "earnings." It's becoming a bit hard to convince other students to play along and give money to Noah willingly, but William feels that he is close to stopping Noah for good. He just needs to play along just a little longer.

For now, he takes out his key and unlocks the door to his dorm room. He opens it slowly as to not wake up Billy. When the door opens just enough for him to get in, he slips through and closes it as slowly as he opened it. He hears Billy snoring to his right and to his left is the bathroom light, the only source of light in the room.

 _He remembered to keep the light on for me. Thanks, Billy._

Maneuvering the somewhat brightened room, he grabs his pajamas and heads into the bathroom to change. As he enters, he locks the door. He prepares to change. Just as he is about to take off his shirt, something occurs to him. From what he read in the Bible, God is a tri-omni being, all good, all powerful, and all knowing. What William has been doing lately hasn't exactly been what God would've expected out of a Catholic, no less a new one.

Instead, William puts his pajamas on one of the racks used for towels and leans against the wall. Even if God is all knowing, William feels like there must be an understanding between them on why William is doing this.

"Um…Hey, God. I—I don't really know how to start a prayer. This is my first time doing it. But, I guess I can start with just explaining myself." He takes a deep breath before continuing, keeping his nerves calm. "I know what I've been doing isn't what you would approve of, setting up someone to fall. Your son, Jesus, did preach about no judging or condemning others. Rather, you should be forgiving them. But…what about the times when that just doesn't work?"

"I'm not saying what he says is wrong. I'm just asking about what we do when we meet people who always condemn and judge, those who never forgive? What about the criminals who take advantage of the weak every day, no matter how many times we try to reform them, to discipline them? What about those times when the law fails? There has to be someone to enforce these laws and to do so, they need to work outside them. That's what my Dad did. As the Green Arrow. What I do, I do to enforce the laws you set for us. If that means I have to condemn someone who has never stopped condemning or judging others…then so be it."

* * *

Oliver starts to feel uneasy, the buzzing in the room he is in making him feel as if he is going deaf. The flickering lights and not being fed anything for a long time doesn't help either. He keeps his mind occupied with thoughts outside of his predicament.

 _Felicity is doing all she can to find Diaz. She has the team to look out for her. William is probably doing well in his school. He's making friends, enjoying life. You'll get to see them soon. Time…time…the time is—_

"Just after your usual wake up call." Oliver hears a familiar voice in his head, as if it's all around the room. He jolts a bit and looks up to see the Green Arrow standing in front of him. "Hello, Mr. Queen."

Just as Oliver is about to ask how he got in here, the light flickers again and the Green Arrow disappears for a split second before reappearing again.

"You're not here."

"No, I'm not. I won't go into the details of how, since it might confuse you. Just know that I'm able to speak to you telepathically."

Oliver never noted this until now, but he notices that the voice modulator that the Green Arrow uses is a lot like the one he used during his first couple of years as the Hood, only it sounds somewhat deeper and more intimidating.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to check up on you. After everything that happened, I thought you would like someone to talk to."

"I'm fine."

"You shaking a bit says otherwise. They usually starve people before starting the reform process. It's something that tells you they're in control. Don't let them get to you."

"I said—" Oliver takes a moment to regain some composure. "I said I'm fine."

The Green Arrow raises his hands. "Okay. Just trying to help."

"I don't need your help."

"You made that pretty clear when you refused my offer. And yet, you're still talking to me, which means you trust me to a degree."

"The only reason I'm letting you talk to me is because you saved my wife and child. Besides, what were the chances that the Demon would've hid himself if Brick told him you were after him?"

"It's prison. Where could the Demon have gone?"

"You don't know what Level 2 is like."

"Neither do you. What is the likelihood of someone hiding themselves in—"

Before the Green Arrow says anything more, faint footsteps can be heard in front of Oliver, even with the buzzing in the room. The Green Arrow turns his head in the direction of the steps.

"Someone's coming."

The Green Arrow steps away, giving Oliver a clear view of who is coming his way. There were three people. One of them is a man with dark complexion, a full, black beard, and a black suit with a buttoned shirt underneath it. It distinguished him from the two guards in their usual attire escorting him.

As the three men came closer, the buzzing dies down and the lights become more stable. Oliver breathes a sigh of relief to know that the constant sound is over, at least for now.

The door opens and the three men step inside. As the door closes, the man in front speaks up. "Hello, Mr. Queen. I am Dr. Jarret Parker, the Chief Psychiatrist of Level 2."

"You've been keeping me in here without food or water."

"I understand these conditions may cause some discomfort, but your recent behavior indicates that you are a danger to yourself and other inmates. Until I can determine that you are in the right mental state to be with the other inmates, it will just be the two of us for a while. I'm going to conduct your psychiatric evaluation."

"But I'm not crazy."

"That's what I aim to determine. Now, let's begin. What is your name?"

"You know my name."

"Please, answer the question."

The Green Arrow puts a hand on Oliver's shoulder. At least, whatever form the Green Arrow is in. The touch feels real though. "Play along, but don't let him rope you in completely."

Oliver closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "My name is Oliver Queen…and I don't belong here."

"I'm hearing someone who doesn't want to take responsibility for his actions. The actions that led you to Slabside are of your own design."

"You don't understand. A man named Ricardo Diaz tried to kill my family. Somebody on this level has a connection with him. I need to find this person. The only reason I am in here is because I put myself here."

"For the sake of argument, what will you do after you find this person?"

"I will use him to stop Diaz."

"How? By hurting or killing him…and Mr. Diaz?"

Oliver looks away from Dr. Parker and to the floor. He hasn't thought of what he will do with the informant. He was just going to get information out of him and exploit it but didn't think about what to do afterwards. Would Oliver kill him to stop him from contacting Diaz? Let him go?

"So many possibilities."

Oliver subtly shrugs the Green Arrow's imaginary hand away and gives a frown. Oliver knows that he is reading his mind, which is focused on the conversation with Dr. Parker.

"Sorry. Force of habit."

Dr. Parker continues, "Recidivism is the likelihood that a violent criminal offender will commit another violent crime when set free. That is what I'm trying to prevent, but I believe everyone here has a chance at redemption, even people like you."

Oliver looks back up to Dr. Parker, the frown still present. "I don't need your help, and I don't need redemption."

"You don't?"

"No."

"How many people have you hurt…besides the prisoners and guards you sent to the infirmary?"

Oliver looks away for a moment. He never keeps track of how many people he has hurt, nor how many he killed. To him, it was irrelevant.

He turns back to Dr. Parker. "I don't know."

"How many people have you murdered? Hmm? Would you say you have violent tendencies?"

"I would say that I'm trying to protect my family."

Dr. Parker doesn't argue further. Instead, he reaches into his pocket. He takes out what looks like a photograph. Oliver's eyes widen just a bit. The back of it only shows it faintly with the lighting, but he can tell who is on it.

Dr. Parker smiles. "And they do seem like a lovely family." He lends the photograph to Oliver. "We'll…unpack more of this tomorrow."

Dr. Parker and the two guards leave the room. Oliver is left looking at the photo of his wife and son.

The only one left with him is the Green Arrow apparition. "Asking the right questions and acting friendly. This guy knows how to probe somebody. But, Jarrett Parker. How have I heard that name before? Something I'll have to look up. So, since there's not much I can do right now, I'll be going."

"Wait!" The Green Arrow doesn't move at all, since there is nowhere for an apparition to go. But he doesn't disappear, which must mean Oliver has his attention. "Just tell me…how are my wife an son?"

The Green Arrow seams hesitant to say at first. Eventually, he says, "They're fine. I'll be back."

The Green Arrow then disappears as the light flickers just one more time. The buzzing doesn't come back yet, but Oliver knows that it eventually will. For now, he looks back to the photo of his family, glad to hear that they are far from harm.

* * *

Rene walks into the refinery, seeing Felicity stand over the Silencer. Even from here, he can feel the heat sweltering inside the refinery and can see from the Silencer's sweat that even she finds it unbearable but keeps a neutral stare.

 _Felicity, you better not be killing her._

Rene walks to Felicity as she continues her interrogation with the Silencer.

"Where is Diaz?"

"No food or water. The heat on blast. And you call this an interrogation?"

"It'll only get worse for you."

"You don't have the stomach to do what you need to do. Diaz is only getting stronger. You have no idea what's coming."

Rene stops just behind a pillar and peeks out to Felicity.

"Hey."

Felicity turns to Rene. He motions his head for her to come over so they can talk. Felicity obliges and follows Rene to a space just a steps from the pillar where they believe their conversation can be private.

"Any luck?"

"No. I think she may be enjoying herself. We need to turn up the heat."

"Any hotter and she'll turn into soup."

"I mean raise the stakes. Do whatever it takes to get the information."

"You mean torture?"

"I don't not mean it."

"Felicity, you don't know what you're saying. Torturing someone is a line you do not want to cross. When the Navy discharged me for what I did to a prisoner, I learned of the cost it took on my humanity because I still have nightmares about it, even though I saved lives. So when Tobias Church tortured me for over 20 hours, that was the Universe paying me back. Evil for evil."

"I'm sorry about that. I really am. Church broke you. You gave up Oliver's identity. But that means it worked. Silencer tried to kill Dinah and Laurel and everyone. Diaz hired her and he is not gonna stop until we are all dead."

As Felicity is done talking, Rene's text alert goes off. He takes out his phone and reads a text from Dinah that says, _"Where are you? You were supposed to be here 5 minutes ago."_

"Oh shoot. I was supposed to meet Dinah for a town hall." Felicity looks like she is going to argue, so Rene quickly speaks, "Look, Silencer is not going anywhere. So, let's take a break, then we can find out what to do with her later. Okay?"

Felicity slightly nods. "Okay."

Rene and Felicity turn the heat off as to not risk killing their prisoner prematurely. They then rush out, Rene hoping he can pick up Zoe and get to the Youth Center before he ends up being late.

* * *

"Okay. Range is still good. Connection seems stable. Mask filters on. I should be set."

William walks over to the chair, intent on using it to go into his dad's mind once more before the night's end. Before he gets there, though, the time alert goes off on his computer. He let's out a loud groan.

"This thing has the worse sense of timing."

He walks towards the computer and clicks on the notification. It shows next week's paper, its front page news being "Constant Fires Cause Riots in the Glades."

"Show me the first fire."

The newspaper changes to a news article detailing a fire at the Glades Youth Center. William looks at the date. "That's tonight."

He lets out another groan, this one more subtle than the last one. "When I take down Diaz, I'm going to get you fixed."

William quickly walks over to the mannequin with his suit, taking the suit off it and putting it on himself. He then grabs the bow and quiver and heads out, hoping to get to the Youth Center before anyone gets hurt.

* * *

William reaches the roof of Youth Center and turns on his detective vision. The first room he sees is with Captain Drake and Rene Ramirez addressing a bunch of people.

The portable mic lets him listen in on what the people are saying and the responses from both Captain Drake and Rene.

The first person speaking out is a voice he recognizes. It was a woman whom he helped from being mugged just outside her home. **"The rich part of Star City gets five squad cars for every one the Glades gets."**

" **I assure you ma'am, that is not the case."**

" **Well, I'm with her."** The second voice is a grocery store owner who was being robbed until William stepped in. **"When my store got robbed, it took SCPD two hours to respond to it. Do you know who was there in minutes? That new Green Arrow. Where were you?"**

" **Sir, I am sorry for the response time, but we are doing the best we can with limited resources."**

" **You and mayor Pollard are in way over your heads."**

" **Guys, guys. Captain Drake is here. She's trying to help. Let's be reasonable."**

" **Well, the facts are, Rene, that things were better off with the vigilantes. Am I right!?"**

The store owner turns to the other people and raises his hand as a gesture for all of them to agree, which they did. Nearly all the room shouted agreements or insults at Captain Drake for incompetence. It became so loud that William turned the volume of his mic down.

Still, William can't help but to smile. From the chanting, William can tell these are all people he helped this past month, whether it was preventing their death, stopping a mugging, or far worse. Even though he has a future to save, he couldn't just sit by and watch helpless people being preyed on in the streets. Helping them is what any hero would do. It's what his dad has done.

"Sounds like people are taking a liking to you."

The voice behind William turns his smile into an eagle eyed stale as he instinctively turns around and aims a concussion arrow so quickly, he may have shot it as well had he not controlled his arm. Knowing Diaz, who is standing there with a black trench coat on, will not fall for the same trick.

Diaz smiles. "Really, William? Well, go ahead. I fell for it twice already."

"You just made your presence known. You could've snuck up and killed me right here."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. Yet. Right now, I'm…keeping you on your toes."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you do have your little…what was it called, a time alert?" William is taken slightly aback, his eyebrow raised by a little, but keeps his stare. "Just one of the new tidbits of information we got from a reliable source."

"Who is it?!"

"I don't think that should be your priority right now."

"What are you—"

" **Fire! Fire!"**

The subtle yelling of Captain Drake in his ear causes him to turn his mic up and look back into the room with his detective vision. People are getting up and leaving in droves. Captain Drake is about to leave, but Rene runs the other way.

" **I have to get Zoe!"**

"Zoe?!"

William scrambles to find Zoe in the building until he sees her on the far side, kneeling to the ground and putting her hands behind her head.

 _No._

"Looks like you have a choice William. Find the arsonists…or save her."

William doesn't hesitate to run to where Zoe is. The last thing he can hear from Diaz is him sarcastically saying, "Nice chatting with ya!"

William spots a glass ceiling he can break through. He readies a rope arrow from his quiver. Before he gets there, he sees Rene moving over debris and catching up to her, but part of the the ceiling collapses, blocking them from the door.

William quickly breaks the part of the glass roof farthest from them, which startles them a bit, but not scaring them away. He jumps down, the sight of him calming the two of them down a bit.

He waves to them. "Come on!"

Rene, carrying Zoe in his arms, runs to William's position. William then shoots a rope arrow at the beam above them.

"Hang on!"

Rene and Zoe hold William tight as they shoot upward, their weight still supported by the rope. Once they are above ground, they step off onto the roof.

William turns to where he saw Diaz last, seeing him nowhere in sight. He then turns to Rene and Zoe.

"The emergency stairs are back behind you. Get to safety. Go!"

Rene does as he is told, bringing Zoe over to the fire escape nearby. William stays to make sure they get to where the other people are safely. They regroup with Captain Drake, who looks up to the rooftop, a stare of contempt on her face, but she's probably glad that he got them to safety.

Not taking any chances of Captain Drake calling in SCPD, William takes off the long way, hoping that going another route besides the fire escape can keep him from being followed. As he does, one concern is left in his mind: _How much of the future does Diaz know?_

* * *

" **Although the cause for the fire at the Glade's Youth Center is yet to be determined, the SCPD does have a leading suspect. The new Green Arrow was spotted at the scene of the crime. I have instructed Captain Drake and the SCPD to utilize every resource to find and apprehend him. Vigilantism will not be tolerated."**

Rene turns the TV off, becoming sick of Mayor Pollard's bias against someone just trying to help the city. He turns his head to John and Curtis. "What a load of crap. This guy's a hero. He saved those people's lives."

John can't help but smirk at Rene's comment. _Like father, like son._

Their attention turns to Zoe, who lies in the hospital bed asleep.

"How's she doing?"

"Doctor says she'll be fine. They're just holding her here as a precaution."

Curtis gives a warm smile. "She's strong. Just like her not-so old man." He then reaches into his sack. "I got her a little something." He pulls out a Beebo plush toy, something John gave to his son last Christmas.

Rene looks at it, looking a bit skeptically. "Isn't she a little old for that?"

"Hey, don't hate on Beebo. He brings comfort to all ages."

As Curtis lays the plushie next to Zoe, Diggle feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He takes it out to see a text that says, _"Meet outside the room. G.A."_

John turns around, seeing William poke his head in view of the door's small window. Curtis looks back too, a look of surprise as he sees him. Rene doesn't notice, his focus on Zoe.

This is fortunate for both John and Curtis since that means their excuse for leaving won't be convoluted.

"Listen, Curtis and I need to go. But update us on Zoe when you can."

Rene looks up and nods. "Alright."

John and Curtis leave the room, seeing William, who is wearing a black hoodie and jeans, just a few meters away.

Curtis is the first to ask, "How long have you been there for?"

"I just wanted to know how she's doing."

"She's fine now, thanks to you. How exactly did you know—"

"Time alert. And this is just the first John. A newspaper a week from now says that this causes a riot in the Glades. Star City will be in a state of disrepair if I don't stop them."

Curtis gives a curious look. "Why would a couple of arsonists want to do something like that? There isn't anything at stake for them, is there?"

"There is since Diaz, who was at the youth center, is leading them."

"Diaz was there? Well, that would explain a lot and may just open up a potential lead."

"How so John?"

"Curtis."

"Right." Curtis pulls out his phone from his pocket and accesses his ARGUS app. "You remember that laptop Wolfman had when we arrested him?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we extracted the contents and found the money transfer sent to him, which had this." He moves next to William to show him the painting. "It's a painting called—"

"'Dante, He Hath Seen Hell.' I've seen it before. How is it relevant?"

John moves next to Curtis as he fiddles with the app to show the accounts linked to the painting. "Well, after some backtracking, we've discovered this painting has been sent to multiple accounts, mainly terrorist organizations, by someone going by the name Dante."

William nods. "I see. The painting is his calling card."

"Yep. And one of the most recent payments is to a man named John Cortez." Curtis accesses ARGUS' criminal database to bring up John Cortez, a man who looks skinny but not very muscular with somewhat long hair and a clean shaven face.

"Wait, Cortez?"

John gives a curious look. "You know him?"

"He's the illegitimate son of Garfield Lynns, a famous arsonist. I encountered him a few times in the future. So far though, he was supposed to be in Gotham. But, how are we sure he and Diaz are connected?"

Curtis scrolls down until he reaches the name "The Dragon."

"This name here is the only one that's an alias, and it's one for Diaz."

"We believe that Diaz may be in league with whoever Dante is."

"So, Diaz hired the Longbow Hunters and indirectly hired Cortez through Dante?"

John nods. "Exactly."

"Okay. Well, if there are going to be multiple fires, that means Cortez will stay in the city, probably the glades."

"I'll monitor street cams and see if ARGUS can find Cortez. I'll send you a text when I get something."

"You do that. My number is on the text sent to John. Contact me through there. In the meantime, I need to get back. Oh, and I need one more thing. There's someone I need information on."

Curtis nods. "Sure. Who is it?"

"Jarrett Parker. He's the head psychiatrist of Slabsides Level 2, but he probably doesn't have an official record there."

"Alright. I'll find him."

"Thanks."

William walks away and into one of the closets. Curious, both of them walk to the door. As they were about to open it, they here a whooshing sound for about a second before silence comes back. They open the door quickly, the only things there being the cleaning supplies.

Curtis is now amazed. "Did he just—"

"Let's…just get back so we can find Cortez."

Not wanting to dwell on it, John closes the door and they go to the elevators, their objective clear. Curtis kept his amazed look, probably thinking about how he can get a breach device of his own.

* * *

 _It's 9:00 A.M in the morning. Parker will be here in a few minutes from now. Lunch is being served to everybody 3 hours from now. Lights out is in—_

"Good morning."

The familiar deep voice returns, but Oliver does not open his eyes.

" _Good morning."_

"You've learned how to speak to me through your mind. Good. Wouldn't want Parker to think you're crazy."

" _Why are you here?"_

"To make sure you haven't succumbed to Parker's interrogations."

" _No. Why are you here when I made it clear that I don't need your help?"_

There is a pause before the Green Arrow speaks again. "You're…an important person. At least to me. I need your mind intact for when you go down to Level 2. Otherwise, I lose the Green Arrow."

" _You're the one wearing the costume."_

"But I'm not the Green Arrow. I'm just a man keeping your image alive. What you represent."

" _And what is it you think I represent?"_

"Hope. And I'm doing everything I can to spread hope in Star City, which now needs it more than ever."

Oliver hears the buzzing dying down followed by the door opening in front of him. He opens his eyes to see Dr. Parker and the same two guards who walk to either side of Oliver.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. I see you've found a way to keep track of time. I'm impressed. An active mind means you're thinking about things. What is your name?"

Oliver makes eye contact with Dr. Parker. "I'm not answering any more of your questions."

The small smile on Dr. Parker's face turns into a neutral stare. "Still resistant. Hmm. I guess we'll have to try a different approach."

Suddenly, Oliver feels a pinch on his right arm which starts to intensify. He looks at it to see a guard give him an injection. As the guard takes out the needle, he feels something strange in his body.

"What was—what was that?"

"That will help you feel more comfortable, so we can have a real conversation."

"Oliver, I think this is some kind of truth serum. Fight it."

"You don't have to fight it anymore. You have fought enough in your life. Now, you consider yourself a hero. The question is: when was the moment the playboy son of a billionaire became the man known as the Green Arrow?"

He tries to resist answering the question, but whatever chemical has been injected in him is forcing him to remember. Remember…

"Oliv—whatever he injected is inter—just make it through. Survi—"

" _You can survive this. You can make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs. But you have to survive this first."_

The memory fades from his mind faster than it remained, but it still overwhelmed him intensely.

"You're struggling. What do you see?"

He finds that he can't keep in the truth anymore. "I'm—I'm with my father at sea."

"Are you on the Queen's Gambit?"

"No, we're on a life raft. The ship has already gone down."

"Was there anyone else with you?"

More memories flash in Oliver's mind, memories that he had been trying to suppress his whole life. "There was…Dad's security guard, Hack—Hackett. The three of us survived."

The memories become more intense. He can see his father shoot Hackett and then himself, his parting word lingering even as the memory ends, _"Survive."_

"What is it? What do you see?"

"I—I can see my father. He's telling me to right his wrongs…just before he shoots himself. He sacrificed his life so I could live."

"Is that why you became a vigilante?"

Oliver nods. "Yes."

"Because he put his sins on you."

"Please, stop."

"A father passes on more than just his name to his children. He provides them his legacy. What became of Hackett?"

"There was only enough food and water for one person. Dad shot him."

"Your father shot him? Then what? Like he doesn't matter in this story? Just collateral damage? Didn't you ever think to yourself that he had hopes, dreams, something to go back to just as you had, and your father took all of that away from him? Your father wasn't a hero, Mr. Queen…"

* * *

"… **He was a murderer."**

William can't believe what he is hearing. _Dr. Parker wasn't there. He doesn't understand what Dad has done for the city. Besides, my Grandfather at least felt guilty for what he did, you jerk. Still, he seems to be getting to my dad, which is worrying. At least I now know the small ranged time camera I placed on the photo of me and Felicity is working to great effect._

William turns the camera off, knowing the interrogation is over. He wants to go back into Oliver's mind, comfort his dad and tell him that Dr. Parker is wrong. Unfortunately, the serum Oliver was injected with messed with the frequency between Oliver's brain and Devoe's chair, so he can't get back in until a few calibrations are made.

In the meantime, he decides to check up on Felicity, who should still be at Rene's apartment. However, he finds the apartment empty.

"Where did Felicity go?"

He looks through other time cameras. Surprisingly, he finds her just passing the police officers guarding the door to Laurel's office with ease.

"What is she doing at the D. A's office?"

Felicity stops short at the door and gives a quick knock on it to let Laurel, who is working on something, know she is there. William shifts the time camera to see Laurel's face, seeing that she is not happy to receive visitors.

" **How did you get past my police detail?"**

Felicity slowly makes her way to Laurel's desk. **"You know I went to MIT, right? It's like Harvard for computer geeks with an acceptance rate of 6.7%? If I can make it into there, I can get into anywhere. Except for here, which is why I told the cops outside that we were sorority sisters."**

Felicity looks over Laurel's work, looking a bit surprised. **"Wow, so you are actually practicing law."**

" **Why does everyone find that so hard to believe?"**

" **Probably because you're not the real Laurel, or a real lawyer. Wow try saying that 3 times as fast. What a tongue twister."**

Laurel looks up from what she is doing. **"I am doing this for Quentin. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work now."**

" **Yeah, yeah. I get it. I mean, prosecuting criminals must be harder than being one."**

Felicity peeks at a few pages of one of the books on the desk, probably seeing if there is anything hidden in there from Laurel's criminal days. Laurel pushes the hand away.

" **You're still here."**

" **I have a case that you might be interested in."**

" **Look, your Laurel may have done the whole pro bono thing, but this Laurel doesn't."**

Felicity sits down in the seat across from Laurel. **"Hypothetically…if there was an assassin who, I don't know, went by the name Silencer and said assassin attacked the D.A and Police Captain with a belt that cancelled sound, that got captured and is being locked up somewhere by an unnamed individual, would the D.A and said individual be interested in dishing out some old fashioned justice?"**

William's fears of the question not being hypothetical raised as Felicity kept on talking and even more beyond. Laurel, however, showed more interest than worry.

" **You kidnapped and imprisoned the silencer?"**

" **No, just…asking for a friend."**

Laurel smirked, placing her arms on the desk and leaning in a bit closer to Felicity. **"And now you need my help."**

" **Yeah, I never thought the day would come, yet here we are."**

Laurel stands up, her hands supporting her as she leaned on the desk. **"Where is she?"**

As William hears the location, he sighs and places his hands on either side of his head. "Now I have two things to worry about."

* * *

As the last of his food is put onto his tray, William starts to walk over to his table at the end of the room, where Billy usually sits. He looks down at the food, which is the usual hamburger every Wednesday. By now, he can predict what every food will taste like, good but bland. _I really miss the home cooked meals._

As he gets to the middle of the room, he hears a familiar voice call to him, "Hey, William!"

William looks to his right, seeing Noah surrounded by his usual gang of friends. Noah stretches his hand, offering William a seat opposite him. He complies and sits in the empty seat, knowing that refusing means he might lose Noah's trust.

William sets down the food, eating it slowly so he can try to find some flavor in the burger, a different taste, but finds nothing.

"I know Will. The food in here is crap after a while."

"I take it you wanted me here for the test of trust you've been talking about?"

Noah smirks. "Straight to the point. I like it. Yeah, this is the test."

"What is it?"

Noah points to where Billy is. "I want money from him."

William raises an eyebrow. "From Billy? He's my friend, not to mention my roommate."

"And he must know that even under those conditions, he's not safe from us unless he's in the gang. Everyone here has to make contributions to us or else."

"I can convince him to join us then."

"We tried. He says he's too 'pure hearted' to give us a chance."

Some cogs start spinning in William's brain. "And if he doesn't?"

"Then tell him that if he doesn't give it to us by tomorrow night, we'll take it from him, willingly or not."

Outside, he acts concerned. Inside though, he's ecstatic. Noah has been known to break into dorms and take money that way, whether it was sneaking inside or threatening another student to unlock the dorm for them or, better yet, a member of his gang did so. Either way, he manages to leave no trace at all. Knowing that it will be his room they're breaking and entering into assures that this time will not be the case. This is the opportunity William has been waiting for.

William nods. "Okay. I'll signal you with a thumbs up or down when I have an answer."

He takes his tray and gets up. He walks over to where Billy is sitting and sits opposite him. Billy does not look pleased. However, William can tell that it is an act, as they agreed upon when William told him he was infiltrating Noah's "operation." William acts the same.

"Did you find out anything?"

"They want you to give money to them by tomorrow night or else they take it from you. I know where you hide it, so there's no use refusing." William words his warning carefully in case Noah knows how to read a person's lips. "You know they'll deny ever being there."

Billy gives a smirk in the corner of his mouth that cannot be see by Noah. He knows that this is their chance to spring a trap. Even so, he stays in character. "Well, tell Noah that if he wants money, he can go begging to his mom for it because I won't pay a single cent."

William gives the thumb down. Noah nods in acknowledgment and smirks. He probably wanted Billy to refuse, to give him an excuse to make his life miserable.

William and Billy continue eating, still acting as if in contempt for each other. Both are thinking the same thing: tomorrow night, they end this.

* * *

Her captors keep calling her the Silencer. She didn't mind, so long as her identity is still hidden from them. Plus, it has a nice ring to it.

Silencer, to keep her mind off the heat, closes her eyes thinks about the programs and tech that she made alongside her brother. From apps to hacks, every string of code, every wire and mechanical piece, including those in her custom-made belt. From her early childhood to the present, she had been into computers and technology and with her assassin training, she felt almost unstoppable. Though, her master had always warned her of pride being her downfall.

"Hello."

She opens her eyes as soon as she heard a voice, looking at a familiar figure with a sinister smile.

"Remember me?"

 _Laurel Lance. Of course, I do. I still have an order to kill you._

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"You have no idea who I am. I survived. You're in way over your head."

Laurel crouches down. "I don't think I am. A little advice from the person who used to work with that psychopath Diaz…you think you're being loyal, but the only loyalty Diaz knows is to himself. He'll kill you without a single thought."

"I'd do the same to anyone who gets in my way."

Laurel quickly gets up, her smile turning into a grim stare. "I don't think I'm making myself clear. Maybe I need to talk a little bit LOUDER."

Laurel opens her mouth, Silencer ready for the scream. Surprisingly, nothing comes out. Laurel, who even seems surprised, tries to scream a few more times. Still nothing.

One of her captors, Felicity Smoak, peers around the corner. "Laurel. Laurel, do the thing."

"I'm trying, but—"

Suddenly, a couple of loud taps of metal can be heard behind where Felicity Smoak is. All three of them turn to see the Green Arrow, his bow on one of the machinery. In his other hand is a device the Silencer recognizes as something that dampens sonic screams.

Felicity Smoak sounds frustrated as she says, "You have the worse sense of timing. You know that?"

"Upstairs! Now!"

Felicity Smoak and Laurel Lance seem reluctant to do so but follow the Green Arrow to the upper level. Silencer can't help but to smirk.

 _This is going to be interesting._

* * *

William paces back and forth in front of Felicity, Laurel standing at a distance and watching them.

"You have done some incredibly stupid things since getting here. You nearly ruined the train operation, you kidnapped the Silencer without anyone's knowledge, not to mention you used and lied to Watson."

"I've been trying to find Diaz!"

"And so am I! This is not the way to go about it! If you keep torturing her, she's going to die."

"Who cares?!"

William is almost shocked at what he is hearing. _She's going down into darkness fast. Too fast._

"He's right." Felicity and William look to Laurel, William with surprise, but Felicity looks more befuddled. Laurel walks towards them. "I'm not saying that I care about whether she lives or not, but if she dies, we get nothing."

"That is what we have now! We need that information."

"And how are you going to get it Ms. Smoak? She's most likely been trained to resist interrogation."

"I can break her."

"That isn't the person I know of."

"Well, this is the new me. This is the me that is not waiting to get herself killed. I'm getting that information, whether either of you help or not."

Felicity turns in the direction of the stairs, but Felicity steps in front of her.

"Get out of my way."

"Listen to me. As much as I like this new you since I can stand to be around you, you have to know that I used to be just like you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I loved—" Laurel pauses for a second, regaining her composure. "I loved my father and my Ollie, but then they were murdered. When I was past my grief, the anger started to settle in. I went into the darkness and I never went back to who I was…and I probably never will. You can't do the same thing I did. You can't let your grief cloud your judgement."

"But…" Felicity looks almost as if she's going to cry. "I don't know what else to do."

"My advice, Ms. Smoak, use your head. It's your best tool."

Felicity looks down to where the Silencer is, sitting with her eyes closed. At first, William is concerned that Felicity is deliberating on inflicting harm against the Silencer. She then lowers her eyes, looking at the belt that is on a large container just a few meters from where the Silencer is. William's concern then turn to speculation.

 _Could she have installed a…?_

After a moment of what William considered to be deliberating, Felicity walks past them and down the stairs. As she nears the Silencer, she grabs a screwdriver that is next to the belt. Laurel is about to rush down the stairs, but William stops her by gently grabbing her arm.

"Wait."

Felicity stands in front of the silencer, gripping the screwdriver firmly.

"Where is Diaz?"

"You know you'll never make me talk."

"I have lost everything. If I have to use this to make you talk, then I will."

"Then do it. Try to make me talk." The Silencer leans in a bit with a grim stare. "I dare you."

Felicity raises the screwdriver, looking like she's ready to plunge it into the Silencer's skull. She looks hesitant, however, her hand shaking. She bites her lip, breathes heavily. Her hand begins to tremble.

Felicity then lets out a grunt, throws down the screwdriver and walks away. William smiles under his mask while Laurel breathes a sigh of relief. They turn their attention to Felicity as she gets up the stairs.

"Was that acting, or did you really consider killing her, Ms. Smoak?"

"Acting at first, but I couldn't help but consider giving the screwdriver a shot."

Laurel looks at them a little confused. "What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, they hear the refinery door opening and closing. They turn to where the Silencer is supposed to be, finding no one there and the belt gone. Laurel looked like she was about to yell at Felicity for being clumsy and leaving the screwdriver at the Silencer's feet. She stops herself though, looking as if she realizes why Felicity did what she did.

"You deliberately gave her the means to escape? Why—"

"Because she put an RFID chip in the Silencer's belt. Right?"

"Yeah. The first thing I did when bringing her here was installing it in case she ever tried to escape."

"So, what does that mean for us?"

"It means we can track her, and she can lead us straight to Diaz."

"A good use of your head, and a moral good at that."

As William finishes his sentence, the time alert on his gauntlet goes off. He checks it to see something that he has been expecting. The location of the arsonist's next target has changed. It is now a Loft that is nearly on the other side of the Glades. He might not get there in time to stop the fires, but he can at least try to apprehend or track Cortez if the opportunity arises.

He lowers the gauntlet. "I have to go."

He starts to walk the direction of the stairs but feels Felicity's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. Thanks for talking me out of killing her. I needed that."

William gives a small nod of acknowledgement before walking down the stairs quickly and exiting the building, hoping to make it to the Lofts in time.

* * *

Rene rushes back into Zoe's hospital room with the few assortments of yogurt he could find in the cafeteria.

"Hey. They didn't have strawberry, so I got you a few others. You still like cantaloupe, right?"

Zoe gives a smile when telling him, "Dad, for the 100th time, I'm okay. You should be out there, finding the bad guys."

Rene sets the tray on the table next to her. "No, no. You're my daughter, so your well being is my priority. Besides, I don't think Aunt Dinah will take kindly to me getting involved again."

Rene notices something odd from the corner of his eye. He looks to the window and sees smoke emanating somewhere afar. Even though he can't see the location properly, he knows the area.

 _That's where the Lofts are._

Zoe, who seems to have taken notice, says to her dad, "You should go. You told me that only punks never care about their neighborhood."

Rene looks at her, proud that Zoe shows her father's concern for the Glades, even though those words were meant to inspire her to help the community, not an excuse to commit vigilantism.

"Why do you listen to everything I say?"

Rene gives Zoe a kiss on the forehead before leaving, seeing a big smile on her face, happy to see that her father is being a hero again.

* * *

Rene makes it to the Lofts, seeing people run out of the building and coughing from the smoke. As he nears the entrance, he pulls out his gun, ready for whatever may be coming. When he passes by the fence, he can hear someone jump down just on the other side.

He aims his gun, finding not an arsonist but the Green Arrow, looking like he rushed out of the building, aiming an unusual, blunt arrow right at Rene.

Rene quickly puts his hands up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm on your side. Remember?"

The Green Arrow keeps his bow aimed at him. "He got away."

"Who got away?"

"John Cortez."

"Is that the guy setting off these fires?"

The Green Arrow nods his head. Rene is now a little confused as to why the Green Arrow is entrusting information with him while still aiming the bow.

"Okay, you can really put it down now."

"It's not for you."

"Then who's it—"

"Freeze!"

Rene turns around to see Dinah, who he didn't hear come up behind him, aiming her gun at the Green Arrow.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air. Now!"

"D, what're you doing?"

"I got a tip of a suspicious fire. I thought he might've been involved."

"He's just trying to help."

"He can prove that by turning himself in!"

"I'll pass!"

Rene quickly looks to Dinah and the Green Arrow, trying to come up with a plan to help him escape. He can only think of one thing right now, which he knows will get him into trouble.

He rushes to Dinah, blocking her line of sight on the Green Arrow.

"G.A, go."

"I won't—"

"Go!"

He hears the Green arrow running away and climbing over obstacles. He does his best to block Dinah, moving in the way when she tries to aim. Eventually, she lowers her gun, telling Rene that the Green Arrow escaped.

Dinah grunts and hits the fence with the butt end of her handgun. "Damn it!"

"I'm sorry D, but I couldn't let you take him in."

"Turn around."

"What?"

Dinah puts away her gun and grabs Rene, forcing him to do as she told him. "Turn around!"

She grabs some handcuffs from her belt and uses them to restrain Rene. He turns his head to her as best as he can, looking at her with disbelief that she would do this. "Are you kidding me?"

"This marks the second time you've tampered with police business, and I am not going to let you do it a third. Rene Ramirez, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do will be used against you, so I suggest you SHUT the hell up."

She escorts him to the car as she gives him the rest of the Miranda rights. Rene doesn't really care about his predicament all that much. _At least the Green Arrow's safe and my daughter is proud of me._

* * *

 _Breathe in…breathe out…keep the mind focused…block out all other distractions…noise, hunger…_

"You're meditating. Good. What better way to keep your mind off things?"

By this point, Oliver can tell what kind of tone the Green Arrow is conveying, even with the modulator.

" _You sound frustrated."_

"I hoped nobody could tell with this voice on."

Oliver can hear the Green Arrow take a deep breath.

"Well, I lost an arsonist the second time last night and…Dinah Drake arrested Rene Ramirez for interfering with police business."

" _You say this as if it wasn't his fault."_

"He…he did it to save me. My presence put him in jail. But it's not entirely my fault. If Captain Drake cared more about truly upholding the law than her career, none of this wouldn't—"

" _Some advice, from one Green Arrow to another…cooperate with them."_

"How? Captain Drake is fully committed to stopping me because Mayor Pollard's adherence to the Anti-Vigilante Act—"

" _You don't know them as well as I do. Deep down, Dinah, Rene, all of them want what's best for the city. Let them help. Don't judge them harshly because they may judge you the same way."_

The Green Arrow breathes a heavy sigh. "'Judge not and you will not be judged.' You wouldn't happen to have read the Bible, would you?"

" _Heh. No, but—"_

Suddenly, the pinching in Oliver's arm is back, forcing him out of his meditation. He opens his eyes to see Dr. Parker and the two guards, back for more interrogating.

He can feel the drug work his way into his system, compelling him to tell the truth.

"Oh crud. I'm losing the con—Oli—"

"Good morning. Please state your name."

As Dr. Parker walks in a circle around Oliver, he feels the drug giving him discomfort, the Green Arrow's voice not there to help him, just like last time.

"O—Oliver Queen."

"You were now just meditating. Where did you learn to do that?"

Oliver doesn't try to fight it as much this time. The drug will get the truth out of him anyways.

"Hong Kong."

"Who taught you?"

"Tatsu Yamashiro."

* * *

William jolts out of his chair. He quickly takes off the helm and rushes to the computer, accessing the time camera as fast as possible.

"Come on, come on, come on."

The camera finally shows on the monitor. In it are his dad, Dr. Parker, and the two guards from before.

" **When we last spoke, you said your father killed a man, Hackett, so that you could live."**

" **Yes. I felt like my father had to make an impossible choice."**

Oliver doesn't seem to be resisting Dr. Parker's interrogations like last time. This concerns William.

" **An impossible choice, eh? How would your son feel if he knew his grandfather was a murderer?"**

 _He did not just pull that. I wish I could tell him—_

" **Dr. Parker, please leave my son out of this."**

" **At times, love can blind a person to the harm they are inflicting on their families, the cycle of violence they are creating that they learned from their own parents."**

" **I would never intentionally harm my son."**

" **Did you know that children of incarcerated parents are 3X more likely to enter the justice system than those whose parent's are not?"**

" **William is nothing like me."**

" **That may be true, but what effect do you think you're having on William? He's lucky to be alive, but with no father, his mother dead, and no real home. Do you think that's a good life?"**

 _Dad, don't answer the question. Please don't answer the question._

To William's dismay, Oliver shakes his head. **"No, it doesn't. Everything I've done, I've done for my son."**

" **I don't doubt that. But, it is my duty to point out uncomfortable truths so that you can reform yourself, so that you can become the man you want to be for your son. You created your vigilante persona so that you could avenge your father's wrongs. Isn't any part of you concerned that William will take your lead and become a murderer just like you?"**

Oliver nods, William's hopes faltering more and more every second.

Dr. Parker crouches down to Oliver's level. **"Then listen to me. That promise to your father was made when you were vulnerable and desperate. It tainted your mission from the start, infecting you and now your son. It wasn't fair of your father to ask what he did of you. You must let go of the past. Only then can you spare your family from paying for your sins."**

 _Please don't Dad. Don't listen. Please._

Oliver looks to be struggling a bit, his breathing a bit uneasy. He looks at Dr Parker with a glare.

" **Go to hell."**

William sighs and leans back in his chair. He runs his hands through his nearly grown back hair.

"Good job, Dad."

He leans back up, seeing Dr. Parker and the guards leave. Dr. Parker looks to be on his cell phone. Out of curiosity, William zooms in as much as he can to hear what he is saying.

" **He's not responding to treatment, but I'm not done with him yet. I'll prepare the shock therapy for lights out tonight. If that doesn't help him, I don't know what will."**

The brief relief that was in William is now being whisked away. _Shock therapy? No, no, no. I can't let Dad go through that alone. But if Cortez attacks…_

Taking his father's advice, he makes a phone call to someone he needs in order to make hunting Cortez go smoothly and quickly. While the phone rings, he calibrates and strengthens the psychic signal of Devoe's chair.

As William makes the last adjustment, she picks up. **"Hello?"**

"Good morning, Ms. Smoak."

" **I thought we settled the whole 'don't kill your prisoners' therapy session."**

"We did. I helped you. But now, I need your help, if you're willing to return the favor."

" **Alright, what do you need?"**

"I need you to track down someone for me."

* * *

In normal attire, William walks into the police station. Thankfully, his resemblance to his father doesn't ring any bells. Everyone inside is either busy or keeping their mind off the stress they face from being busy. He walks towards Dinah's office, seeing her filing some paperwork.

As he walks towards the office, he can't help but feel a bit on edge. He's been taking many risks these past weeks, both now and in his time. This feels different. He is surrounded by people who will arrest him without a second thought, or at least they'll try to. But he has no other alternative.

He reaches the office door and opens it instead of knocking first, knowing he'll just be sent away if he does. He enters and closes it fast, so she doesn't get the chance to tell him to leave.

"Good morning, Captain Drake."

"Whatever complaint you have, you'll have to come back tomorrow sir."

"It can't wait. You arrested a friend of mine, whose help I need as much as yours."

"Sir, the only person we have in our cell room at the moment is—" Dinah's eyes grow wide as she looks up from her paperwork. They then form a glare as she gets a good look at William. "You have some nerve showing up here."

"Actually, it's a mix of desperation and courage, at least in my mind. But, I'm here because I want us to put our differences aside and hunt down the arsonist."

"Then you better have a damn good reason why I shouldn't have all of the SCPD arrest you right now."

As Dinah is saying this, William hears the door behind him open. Believing it to be an SCPD officer, he readies himself for a swift escape.

"Because I can vouch for him."

The sound of John's voice lets William relax a bit, thankful that his plan isn't deterred.

He turns to John, who closes the door. "And he would escape before you gave the order."

William gives a smirk, glad that he now doesn't have to convince her alone. "Good to see you here John."

"Same to you."

William turns back to Dinah, who is looking at both of them with her mouth slightly dropped.

"Your working with him, John?"

"Yeah, but that's not why I'm here. Rene called me."

Dinah sighs. "Of course, he did."

John moves to the right side of her desk, sitting on the edge of it. "He told me about what happened last night."

"He broke the law again and kept me from bringing you to justice." She points to William, who moves to the other side of the desk. "I can't make exceptions because he's a friend of ours. Not anymore. Circumstances have changed. We can't help anyone the old-fashioned way with the risk of getting arrested by the FBI and the police force falling into shambles."

"You mean more than it has already?"

"Shut it."

"Guys! just calm down. Let me take the lead, okay?" He looks to William. He nods, knowing that John is better at talking to her than he is.

"Dinah, you're under pressure. A lot of pressure. I get that, but you sure it's not something more?"

Dinah shifts her eyes downward, as if this is something she doesn't want to talk about.

"You know what helps me? Spending time with J.J. Family, Dinah. That helps us through."

She shifts her eyes back at John. "John, living in the shadows is when all the worst things happen. Oliver going to prison, Vince first undercover, and then…"

"Him dying?" John frowns at William for asking the question, but it doesn't seem to set Dinah off. Instead, she nods, not questioning how he knows about that.

"That's the real reason, because as much as I believed in Team Arrow, I had to move on. I have to be a different kind of hero for this city."

As Dinah talks, William nods to John, telling him that he has the lead again. "Well, sometimes I wonder if there's any form of justice that's 100%, even at ARGUS. I think sometimes, you need vigilantes and law enforcement to work together to get results. Quentin Lance, he did everything by the book, but worked with anyone who could help him. Do what he did and hear us out. Please."

Dinah looks down at the desk for a moment, probably considering her decision. After a little while, she looks up to William.

"What do you have?"

William smirks, glad this actually worked out.

"Well, I had Felicity try to find a correlation between the attacks made by the arsonist, John Cortez. And before you ask, yes, she's working with me now. The M.O is always the same. Sprinkler system down, smoke detectors down, and anyone within range of a fire alarm is taken out. Basically, he has every possibility covered. Though, she can't seem to pinpoint any commonality between the targets."

"Curtis and I have." John takes out his phone and pulls up the list of companies financed by Dante. "This person, Dinah, has been funding both Diaz and Cortez. One of the ways he funds it is through a shell corporation called Patbane Holdings. This company has also been buying up and restoring these targets at a cheap price."

"Patbane holdings?"

"Yeah."

"When I took down Stent and took the cryptocurrency, one of the names I saw that chipped in on it was Patbane and its owner, Marcus Fish. Probably not Dante but may be working for him."

"So, this Dante has been looking for weapons and buying up property that he told Cortez to burn down?"

"Property that, according to ARGUS, has been competed for by more than just Patbane. The last competing property is a movie theatre on 8th, which isn't far from here."

"So, we head there, stop Cortez, and you can have the police claim the glory and restore people's faith in it. Those are wins in my book. Just one more thing."

"Right. Rene." Dinah gets up from her desk. "Follow me." She exits the office, William and John right behind her.

As they head for the cell room, William whispers to John, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem."

John gives William a pat on the shoulder as they both catch up with Dinah. William smirks, glad to know the advice his dad gave him actually worked.

* * *

As Rene hears a door open, he turns around to see Dinah followed by John and someone he…somehow vaguely recognizes. Brushing the feeling off, he gives a smile.

"I knew calling John would work. Thanks."

"You should also thank him."

John points to the stranger next to him as Dinah takes out the keys to the cell.

"And who is he?"

As Dinah unlocks the cell door, she answers, "Your friend."

"My fr—" Suddenly, the realization of who the stranger is hit him like a speeding car. "G.A?" The Green Arrow nods. He can't help but to smirk, glad that the Green Arrow risked his identity to help him get out of jail. Though, he can't shake off the feeling that he's seen him somewhere before. "You're…not what I was expecting."

"Yeah, says you and a lot of people I've met. Listen, we may have a lead on Cortez, but we'll need all the team on deck to catch. You in?"

His smirk turns into a smile, the proposition making him ecstatic. "Man, I've been waiting for something like this for weeks."

The Green Arrow nods. "Good to hear."

Dinah finally gets the cell door open and allows Rene to walk out without a hassle. Rene can't help but wonder one other thing though.

"What about you D?"

"Well, I've realized, with a little help, that cooperating with vigilantes is sometimes necessary in order to keep the law upheld."

"You sound a lot like Lance."

"Thanks."

The Green Arrow interrupts, "Okay, then let's get moving. I have my suit ready to go. We just need transportation."

"Curtis is coming with the van. He's just picking up Felicity first. If Diaz is there, she won't want to miss this."

"Good. Let's go catch us an arsonist."

* * *

 **"Everyone, this is John. Comms check."**

 **"Dinah here, just at the back entrance."**

 **"Rene here, just entering the theatre room."**

"Green Arrow here, at the scaffolding with eyes on Rene. Overwatch, any changes?"

 **"Indeed, there are. Sprinkler system jammed almost 2 seconds ago."**

"That means they're here. Remember, the predicted sites to start fires are the side room and the room behind the screen. That's where the fire alarms are."

 **"Got it. Moving to the side room."**

William watches Rene as he walks through the theatre aisle as people watched an old Bruce Lee movie. William remembers movies like this, as they were the first martial arts movies he ever watched as a kid and his inspiration for learning and incorporating Jeet Kune Do and Lee's principles into his fighting style.

Pushing the nostalgia aside, he sees Rene enter the room, so far nothing suspicious in sight. That is until William sees someone, a bearded man, get up and follow Rene.

William quickly gets back on the comm. "Rene, one person following you. I think it's one of Cortez's men. Moving in to join you in the side room."

 **"Got it. I got eyes on someone setting up a bomb. Get here quick."**

"Copy."

* * *

As Rene gets off his comms, he starts to slowly creep up to the guy setting up the bomb. Seeing that the man isn't armed, he takes out his gun and aims it.

"Hey dummy. Hands up."

The man does as he is told but looks relaxed. Rene probably knows why. He then hears another handgun being loaded and aimed behind him.

"You first."

Seeing no way out of this on his own, he stalls for time by dropping the gun and slowly putting his hands in the air. Just as they reach above his head, he hears an arrow latching itself onto the ceiling followed by the thug behind him being knocked out.

Without hesitation, Rene charges at the man with the bomb. Before he can get close, the man throws something that creates an explosion strong enough to force him on his back. As he falls to the ground, he sees that the Green Arrow is in the same position, the explosion being stronger than anticipated.

As they get up, the man charges at Rene, coming in with a couple of punches. Rene finds them easy to block and counters with punches of his own to the face. With the man disoriented, Rene finishes him off with a hook, knocking him out for good.

The other man tries to run, but the Green Arrow catches and reels him back with a rope arrow to the leg. The Green Arrow then grabs him by the neck.

"Where is your boss, Cortez!?"

Suddenly, an explosion goes off, Rene predicting that it's in the room behind the screen.

"I guess we got our answer."

The Green Arrow knocks him out quickly and shoots arrows that disperse nets over the goons. They then rush to where the explosion is quickly, hoping it is not to late to stop Cortez.

* * *

As Dinah enters the back room, she sees someone setting up a device on a table. She gets up close enough and aims her gun.

"Freeze!"

As the man steps away from the table, she gets knocked away by something explosive. As she tries to get up, she sees the face of John Cortez as shown to her by Diggle.

Cortez looks to the man. "Set it up."

As the man gets to work, Cortez quickly walks to her with a knife. She instinctually tries to find her gun, seeing it just a few meters away. She grabs and aims it, but Cortez kicks it away. As he goes in for the thrust, Dinah grabs the arm, kicks his leg so he kneels down, and uses her momentum to flip herself and Cortez over. With him on the ground, she employs an elbow strike to the face, knocking Cortez out.

By the time she gets up, it's too late. The man has set off the fire and now he is running off. Before he can get far, though, a rope arrow grabs him and flings him towards the Green Arrow, who catches him and throws him to the ground.

Dinah quickly runs over to the fire alarm and switches it on, the blaring drowning out the screams of people leaving the theatre. She can see Rene run over to her along with the Green Arrow.

"D, you alright?"

"I'm fine, but we're too late. The fire's spreading and the sprinkler system is still down."

"I'm on it." The Green Arrow quickly climbs up the wall with metal ledges until he reaches and grabs onto the water pipe. He pulls on it multiple times, the grunts he gives telling Dinah that it is a very sturdy pipe. Eventually, the pipe breaks away, leaning in the direction of the fire, quickly dowsing it. The Green Arrow, unfortunately, is also on that pipe. The speed and force at which it stops forces him to let go, the wooden platforms below him breaking apart as he falls.

Rene rushes to the Green Arrow, who groans in pain, and tries to lift him up, but to no avail. He looks to Dinah. "D, I need your help."

Dinah hesitates. The police may get here at any minute and if she and Rene get out of here without the Green Arrow, he'll be hospitalized and arrested which is a win for her and gets her respect from Mayor Pollard. But, she knows, deep down, letting the Green Arrow be imprisoned will lead to the city's decay, particularly the Glades'. Also, she knows Rene won't leave the Green Arrow behind.

"D!"

Snapping out of her contemplating, she hurries to the Green Arrow's side and helps Rene get him up.

As they slowly head for the door, Rene gets on the comm. "Dig, G.A's down. We need a ride fast at the back of the theatre."

" **Copy, on our way now."**

* * *

John quickly parks the portable base just outside the entrance, where Rene and Dinah are carrying in an injured William as quickly as they can. They open the door, shimmying side by side since the doorway is narrow. They set the Green Arrow down, who is groaning and barely moving a muscle.

"Curtis, take the wheel."

John quickly rushes to William's side, Felicity joining them as well.

"You all right?"

"Yeah…John. I'm fine."

"Curtis, drive us to the hospital."

"No! No hospital. Get me…get me to the St. Paul's Church just outside the Glades."

"Listen Arrow. You can get a chance to pray when we get you to—"

"Felicity, I need to get to—" William starts to groan in pain again, clutching the upper part of his stomach. He looks back to John. "John. Come closer." John leans in. William whispers, "Dad is going to be put through shock therapy. If I don't get there, I will lose him forever."

John pulls away after hearing this, feeling the sense of urgency William probably is. He looks up to the rest of the group. "Does anyone know where he's talking about?"

"I do."

"Okay. Rene, give Curtis directions. Dinah, get me a med kit. It's on the shelf over there."

As Rene and Dinah go to where they need to go, Felicity grabs John's shoulder, getting his attention.

"We're not seriously doing this, are we? This guy needs a hospital."

"It's…an emergency. Besides, he's still breathing. We just need to make sure he stays that way. Dinah!"

"Got it."

As he feels the van move and as Dinah gives him the med kit, he can't help but think, _I hope we're doing the right thing here. For William and Oliver._

* * *

 _No broken bones or ribs felt. No sprained ankles_. _Just bruising and outside pain. Walk it off._

William keeps thinking this over and over as he is being taken in by Dinah and Rene, with the others following him. He can tell that their eyes are on the bed.

"No bed! The chair."

Their attention then turns to Devoe's chair right next to his computer setup. They hesitated but did as he requested. They set him down on the chair as the others make their way inside. Felicity seems to be the only one who knows who's chair William is sitting in.

"Is that Devoe's chair?"

"Yes, now—"

"Did you steal that from STAR Labs!?"

"I'm going to give it back! Now, please…do as I say. Go to the computer."

Felicity does as she is told, looking at the monitor.

"Wow, you have complex systems here."

"Focus. What does…what does the calibrations system say?"

"It says calibrations are complete. Whatever you're gonna do, you good to go."

"Good. Just one last…thing. Below are filters that say mask and voice modulator. Turn those…off."

William can hear two clicks as Felicity moves the mouse around.

"Done."

"Wait a minute." William can see John looking at him with concern. "You're going to reveal yourself to him? Are you sure?"

"It's…the only way to help him…John. Now, lower that onto my head." He manages to point to the helm above him as he painfully takes off his hood. John happily obliges.

Felicity starts to look confused. "Wait, help who?"

"Felicity…just know that…I'm sorry for not telling you…the way I wanted to."

"Tell us what?"

"Just…watch the screens. You'll know."

John places the helm on William and goes to stand with the rest of them. Before going into the vortex that would bring him into his dad's mind, he presses a couple of buttons on the chair that puts his perspective on screen. Then, he closes his eyes and lets his mind go through the process of connecting to his dad's brain.

As his mind becomes more focused, the pain he is experiencing becomes more and more intense. He knows that by the time he is done helping Oliver, he will pass out from the pain. Still, he knows that the others will be more than willing to help him, especially his stepmother, once they see the truth.

* * *

Oliver wakes up with a start, finding that he can't move his arms or legs. He lifts his head up to see himself strapped to another bed. He can also feel a couple of metal objects on either side of his head.

"Ah, Mr. Queen. You're awake." He looks to where he heard the voice, seeing Dr. Parker next to him, working on a machine. "I apologize for the sedative we gave you, but it's better to be cautious than sorry."

Oliver tries to think back to when he had that sedative. The last thing he remembers is being given some water before the whole world suddenly went back. They told him he was taking a pill. He guesses that wasn't too far off.

Oliver looks back to his strapped down body. "What is this thing?"

"It's a new form of electrical therapy. It targets the memory areas of the brain, the places where our greatest fears are held. I've used this to reform Slabside's more stubborn cases."

"I don't need to be reformed."

"Your will is one of the strongest I've encountered, but even mountains fall overtime."

Oliver can feel the metal objects send shocks to his head. He feels the world around him fading, his eyes forming a picture. He tries to stop it.

"Don't fight it."

He keeps trying. _I can't give in. I…can't…_

* * *

"You can survive this."

Suddenly, Oliver finds himself back on the raft, hearing his father's voice whisper to him the words he always stood by.

"Make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs. But you've got to live through this first."

" _Are you on the raft?"_

The voice of Dr. Parker emanates all around him like an echo. Oliver feels that he has no choice but to comply.

"Yes."

" _What is your Father asking you?"_

"He's—he's asking me to right his wrongs."

" _And setting you on a road of ruin that will one day poison your son."_

"Dad."

Suddenly, Oliver hears another familiar voice. He sees no sign of his father, but sees William, tired and vulnerable, as Oliver was on this raft.

"I'm scared."

"It's okay buddy. Come here."

He brings William over to him and puts his arm over his shoulder, letting him lay by his side.

"I'm gonna take care of everything. It's gonna be fine. You're—you're gonna be fine."

" _In those last moments on the raft, your father asked you to redeem his own life. But, if you had been in his place, what would you have told your son?"_

"We're gonna die here." William's voice sounds as weak as he looks, which saddens Oliver, concerns him.

"No. No, you're gonna make it through this. You're gonna get off this raft, and you, William, you are…"

There are so many things Oliver wants to say to William at this moment. He wants to say that he loves him, that he would do anything for him because he and Felicity are all that matter to him. But, if he want's William to move on, William has to hate him.

"… You are gonna have an amazing life…because you are destined for great things, not to die on this raft. Promise me that you will forget about me, and—and you go live your life."

Oliver gently moves William off him and onto the side. He then reaches for the revolver underneath him. He knows how this must go. Only one of them can survive, and he accepts his fate.

As he takes the gun out, William gives one last look of shock and confusion, as Oliver once had when he saw his father die.

"Dad!?"

Oliver looks away. "Live."

He then puts the gun to his head, ready to pull the—

"No, Stop!" Suddenly, gloved hands grab the barrel of the revolver. Oliver knows who this is, but he doesn't care. He struggles to keep the gun on him, no matter how may time the Green Arrow said—

"DAD, STOP!"

His hand trembles and the mention of the word "Dad," his grip still firm on the revolver, but letting the gloved hands bring it down and away from him. He looks back, no longer seeing William…or is he?

He looks at the now unmasked vigilante, seeing a young man with a familiar yet changed face, bearded and hardened, a haircut that looks to be growing back from a buzz cut. And his eyes, the eyes of those of a Queen who had been through so much pain, so much hardship. Oliver looks with eyes so wide that he felt he can never close them again, nor did he want to at this moment. It couldn't be…

"Dad."

The whimpering mention of the word once more confirms Oliver's suspicions, and his fears.

"William?"

He nods his head, only solidifying his fears even more. Everything Dr. Parker said…

" _Oliver. What's going on?"_

William holds up a hand. "Don't talk. They can hear you, but not me. Just listen. Hear me out. Please." William's voice has changed. His pleading, almost begging voice now sound deeper, with a similar tone and mannerism as Oliver.

"I know what this looks like. I know that you think that you've passed on some cycle of violence onto me, that I have become a killer like you. But you should know…I always knew that you've made mistakes, that you've killed people. But—but I also knew you were a hero, the same hero that saved me and others countless times."

* * *

William leads Noah and his group to his room, the hallways devoid of any security. Knowing Billy is out as he was instructed to be, he takes out his room key and unlocks the door. He opens it and lets Noah and the others in to try and find the money Billy stashed while he waited outside to "keep watch."

" _All my life, all I ever wanted was know who my father was. I didn't care if you were pure hearted, flawed, or both. When I found out who you were, what you've done, all I wanted was to be like you. Be the hero I knew you were."_

As they start to rummage the place, William takes out his phone and turns on the cameras he set up inside. He looks at it, seeing Noah and the others carefully looking through all of Billy's stuff, being sure not to leave a trace. Eventually, they find the money where Billy said he would leave it, all of them giving each other high fives and counting the money they just got. William can hear Noah saying that they hit the jackpot. Ironically, so has William.

" _I always knew that you've done terrible things to enact justice, but I didn't care. That wasn't the person I saw you as and they never outweighed my opinion. To me, you were always doing what was right, but you hit a few bumps along the way. We all do."_

As they leave the room and back towards their dorm, William quickly puts away the phone. As Noah exits, he walks up to William and gives him a pat on the shoulder.

"Welcome to the group."

As Noah leaves for his dorm, William smiles. _Trust me, I'm going to send my resignation, and the whole school will see it._

The thoughts of bringing down Noah become a bit overwhelming. At last, he has done it. He has what he needs to bring Noah to…

To justice. Just like his dad would with a criminal. At that moment, William didn't know whether to be happy or concerned. Sure, he's glad to do something like this. He always wanted to emulate his dad in some way. But what if this video gets tracked back to him? What if he gets expelled? He knows that his parents would never approve of something like this as much as the Dean. _But…this is the right thing, isn't it? I feel like I need to do more of this, but…should I?_

Remembering what Joseph Blackfire said about the Bible having the answers, he flips through it, skimming through the marked readings. He stops at a Gospel reading from a Saint named Luke, specifically, if he's got how the numbers worked correctly, chapter 15, verses 11-32.

" _And, honestly, I've made some mistakes myself…"_

* * *

"…But they were my mistakes and mine alone. Nothing you've ever done has led me to them, neither has anything you father done. Their your burdens alone and they are in the past. Don't judge yourself for the choices I've made. Be the hero…be the dad I know you are. Please."

William looks saddened, his eyes almost tearing. His grip is still firmly on the gun barrel, but neither of them dare to move it. Oliver, however, is still processing the information given to him, William's confessions like pinballs in his brain. He doesn't know what to do with this information. He just…he…

He slowly smiles. A tear, the first tear he shed in 6 months, rolls down from his eye. Somehow, all the transgressions, the world outside him, the constant interrogations…they're just melting away. He doesn't care about what he's done. He doesn't care about the things Dr. Parker put in his head. William, the actual William, is here. His son, at this moment, is sitting with him in the one place he least expected and he can never be any happier than this.

In a joyful, whimpering, and almost breaking voice, he says the words he wanted to say before. "I love you William."

William seems to give a very slight, assured smirk. Seeing him happy is just what Oliver wanted.

" _You talked just now. You said you loved your son. Why?"_

Reminded that Dr. Parker is still listening to them, Oliver rephrased what he wants to say next. "Because he's the most important thing to me in the world."

" _Then it is up to you to end your father's cycle for the sake of your son. Only you can do this. Do you understand?"_

Oliver looks down to the gun, then to William. For once, Dr. Parker is right. A cycle of violence must end. The cycle of violence caused by criminals like Diaz, the people who try to hurt his family, who hurt others. The people he stopped as the Green Arrow. If he gives up his identity now, he will have failed in his mission. Failed William. He needs to end this cycle by being the hero he once was again.

His resolve restored, he lets go of the revolver, allowing William to take it and throw it into the imaginary ocean.

William looks at Oliver with a look of relief in his eyes. "We'll both get out of this. I promise." William then hugs Oliver, emotion in his voice. "And I love you too, Dad."

Oliver slowly wraps his now gloved hands and leather covered arms around William. He can feel the suit wrapping around his body, the mask on his face. He doesn't think about it or how it is happening. Right now, he just wants to stay in this moment, hugging his son until he is taken out of this dream. He knows that it will be the last time he does for a long while.

* * *

Rene, Felicity, and Dinah look at the screen, each of them with a different reaction, but the same common feeling to the truth, ranging from surprise to shock.

Rene looks to the Green Arrow—to William, and back to the screen, three words pretty much describing how he feels and probably how everyone else feels, "Oh my God."

Felicity, however, sheds a tear, putting her hands to her mouth. She doesn't know what to say. The insults and taunts she has said to William this past month are just flashing in her mind. She now wishes she can take it all back, but she can't.

Dinah, as surprised as she is to see this, looks to John and Curtis, who don't react at all. Instead, they look at the others with calm, relaxed demeanors. But their eyes tell a different story, looking as if a burden has been taken off their shoulders.

"You knew?"

John nods his head. Dinah doesn't know whether to be angry at them for keeping it a secret or sympathetic if there was a chance that William told them to not tell anyone in the first place.

Suddenly, the screen switches off and the humming noise from Devoe's chair slowly goes silent. William can be heard groaning from the chair. They all look in his direction, seeing his head resting on the extended metal flaps.

Felicity calls to him, "William?"

She, John and Rene quickly run over to William. Rene examines him, finding a pulse and seeing that he is still breathing. "He's fine. He just passed out."

"He needs a doctor."

"We can't just bring someone here, Felicity. We'll take him to my place."

John takes the helm off William's head. "Okay. Felicity, there's a wardrobe over there. Get him some normal clothes. I'll call ARGUS and tell them to send for one of our medics. Rene, get him up. Quick!"

* * *

Oliver wakes up from his visions with a start, finding himself back in the room he started in. William is nowhere to be seen. The only ones here besides him are Dr. Parker and the two guards.

Dr. Parker walks from the machine to Oliver's side. "What is your name?"

Oliver now gets what the answer is supposed to be. Dr. Parker, all this time, was trying to erase Oliver Queen, break him down until he doesn't consider himself a human being, but rather a number. Just another prisoner at Slabside. He now knows how to get into Level 2.

Oliver gives Dr. Parker the answer he wants. "I'm prisoner 4587."

Dr. Parker smiles. "Very good. You'll go down to Level 2 tomorrow. I hope to see you again."

Dr. Parker leaves the room while the two guards unstrap him from the bed. They force him to stand up and then take the bed away, leaving him alone in the room. He walks to the normal bed and takes the photo of Felicity and William in his hand. He lies down and places the photo on his chest.

He then closes his eyes, keeping one thought in his mind, the truth he kept from Dr. Parker. _My name…is Oliver Queen._

* * *

William wakes up, almost with a start. His breathing is more under control, unlike most other times. He finds himself looking up to a ceiling he doesn't recognize. He tilts his head to his side, the familiar table and brown chair across from him giving him a better idea of his current location.

In the chair is Felicity on her phone, tapping on it as if texting somebody.

"Felicity?"

His voice takes her attention away from the phone and towards him, a smile across her face. She sets down the phone on the table next to her.

"You're awake." Her voice sounds as if she is just getting over being frantically afraid. She gets up from the chair and kneels next to him. "How are you feeling?"

William quickly assesses himself. The pain he felt since falling is still there, but it is not as prominent as before. Still, he feels what he tells Felicity, "Terrible."

"Well, an ARGUS field medic looked at you. Nothing's broken, but you do have a lot of bruising. She said you should be better by tomorrow."

William looks down at himself, seeing himself in his civilian attire. "I'm not wearing my suit."

"Yeah, we kinda didn't want to set any alarm bells with the medic, so we took you out of it."

"I'm guessing that's why we're in Rene's Apartment?"

"Yeah."

His eyes dart over the room, not seeing him or anyone else besides himself and Felicity. "Where are the others?"

"Rene went to see Zoe in the hospital and Dinah went to file a report about the theatre incident. John and Curtis had to go to ARGUS HQ but wanted me to tell you that they hope you get better. Also, don't worry about Rene and Dinah. They said they're not going to say a word about you to anyone."

"And the theatre?"

"You saved it and Cortez was arrested. You did it."

He looks back up to the ceiling and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh. "Good."

There is a moment of silence between them. William can tell that there is something that Felicity wants to say but doesn't know how to say it. He turns his head back to her.

"Felicity. Whatever's on your mind, you can tell me."

Felicity lowers her eyes, probably feeling ashamed. "All the things I said to you over the past month. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

She raises her eyes to him quickly. "No. No, it's not. If I had just known it was you, I—I would've been more supportive, more…you know, not belittling you almost every step of the way."

"Well, I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know until Diaz was taken down. But I guess even God has his way of saying that I can't do it alone."

Felicity gives a little smirk. "Since when did you get religious?"

William tries to sit himself up on the couch, the pain not enough to hinder his movement. "Cambridge. It was one of the only parts of it that didn't suck." Realizing what he is implying, he slightly raised his hand. "Not saying that sending me there in the first place, with good reason, sucked."

"No, no. It's okay. I know how much you didn't want to go. I remember you saying that—"

"That I thought you were abandoning me? Felicity, I was angry back then. We were attacked. I knew you were sending me there for my own safety. Well, eventually I did."

"Good to know. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. John told us about Level 2 and Dr. Parker. Dinah's joined the search for any leads on both subjects, but so far nothing's turned up."

"Probably because SCPD haven't digitized their files yet. But, so long as we got someone else searching, then that's a win in my book. But now I need to get back to the hideout."

Felicity quickly stands up. "Hey. No, no, no. You are in no condition to do such a thing. You need rest and rest is what you're going to do."

William couldn't help but smirk. "I forgot how much of a mom you can be."

Felicity smirks as well but doesn't deviate from the subject. "Rest. I'll be in Rene's room in case you need me."

As Felicity turns to leave, William stops her with, "Felicity. Thank you…for everything. And for understanding."

She turns back and kneels, taking William's hand into hers. "You're my stepson. I'm always going to be there for you when you need me…as your father always was. Never forget that."

She stands back up, leaving for the bedroom right next to him. William lays himself down and closes his eyes, letting himself drift to sleep, wanting to let Felicity be at ease knowing that he is doing as he was told.

* * *

"Billie Batson?"

Billie raises his hand upon hearing his voice. "Here."

"William Clayton?"

Silence is all that comes after. He and other students look to the door, seeing if William is going to come in at the last second. Still, nothing. The only time Billie saw William was this morning, when he refused to come with him to class, saying there is one thing he must do first. So far, he hasn't showed up.

"William Clayto-"

Suddenly, the front board that showed the attendance sheet had a video screen pop up on top of it. In the video are Noah and his gang, rummaging Billie's side of the dorm, in search of the cash he deliberately left almost in plain view. It shows Noah finding the money, trading high fives with his friends, then getting out quickly.

Billie looked at it with amazement, as are some of the other students in his class. Others cheered, seeing Noah finally get what he deserves. The teacher tries to calm them down, but they do not want to be silenced. They point at him and say "We told you so," over and over. Billie takes this as his opportunity to sneak out of the room to look for William.

As he enters the hall, he can hear muffled cheers from the room across from him. He peaks in through the glass pane to see the video playing in that classroom as well. As he goes down the hallway, he finds it playing in another, and another, and another. This is what William wanted to do. He wanted to post the video throughout the entire school, maybe beyond, as a way that even Noah can't cover it up, cannot deny his involvement.

This victory gave Billie the biggest smile he ever had in his life.

* * *

William did one final check to make sure he isn't going to leave anything behind. He had an envelope filled with cash, all his clothes, dirty and clean, all his books and his laptop. He throws the bag filled with stuff that felt a little heavy to carry around his shoulder. Before going, he takes out the hozen from his pocket, looking at it and remembering Felicity's promise to William, that she would come back for him when this is all over. A promise that she won't keep.

 _Sorry Felicity._

As he puts the hozen away, he sees the door slam open. On reaction, he takes a step back, ready to punch Noah in the nose if it is him.

Luckily, it was Billie with a big grin on his face. "Will! The class and I saw that entire video! In fact, all the school did! You just made sure Noah is getting a definite expulsion! You actually did—" His grin almost immediately turns into a look of confusion. "Why do you have your bag packed?"

William doesn't say a word. He picks up the bag tries to walk to the door, but Billie steps in the way.

"Will, what's going on?"

"Get out of my way Billie."

"Not until you tell me what's going on."

William sighs in frustration. He doesn't have much time before the Dean gets here, but he's not going anywhere with Billie in the way.

"Look, I can't stay here. There's nothing for me here."

"Wait. You're leaving? You can't just leave."

"Watch me."

"The Dean is going to find out and—"

"The Dean is going to know I sent that video and expel me anyways. I'm just going a few steps ahead of that."

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"Yes, I do. Billie, I really don't have time for—"

"William." The Dean's voice catches their attention. Surprisingly, he doesn't look angry or disappointed. Currently, he looks curious, his eyes on William's bag. "Why are your things packed?"

"Well, I—" William hesitates for a moment, unsure of whether he should tell the truth or lie. But, knowing the Dean, he'll see through any kind of deception, at least with William. "I knew you were going to trace the video to me. I'm just preparing for you to send me back to Star City."

"Send you back? Not at all."

William is taken aback by what the Dean said. For a little while, he is short on words. Luckily, the Dean fills the silence with the answer he wants.

"I saw what Noah did in that video. You gave us irrefutable proof of Noah's activities, what almost every student has been saying of him for the time he's been here. So, I came here to say that I commend you…for finding the most unusual way to take him down."

Whatever glad feeling William was about to express is now slowly turning into confusion. His jaw drops a bit.

"What?"

"Usually, students would resort to just going up to students we make play the role of bully and beating them, show that they are not afraid to resort to violence. That's how we separate the strong and the weak. But, you have still shown that you can be molded to be the same."

"Wait, wait, wait. You put Noah up to all the things he has done?"

"Yes, I did William. Who do you think really erases the evidence? The intent was to take matters into your own hands, to make every student who isn't one of us, which is a small majority, take matters into their own hands. So far, only you have had the courage to do that. Now, we can make you into one of us. As for you, Billie, you will meet the same fate as the others. Our second phase to recruiting brats like you: suffering and surviving through pain."

Reacting quickly, William grabs Billie by the arm and runs towards the window above their bed. The Dean just stands there, but they don't question why he doesn't pursue them.

As William and Billie near the window, a hand grabs William by the neck and pulls him out the window. William sees the face of the man grabbing him, both quaking in fear and having a bit of trouble breathing. It was the face of Ricardo Diaz.

"Going somewhere kid?"

Billy doesn't run off. Instead, he looks as if he is about to say something. But then, a handkerchief covers his mouth, muffling his voice. His eyes look as if they are growing heavy until they close shut. He falls over, the Dean catching him.

The Dean then eyes Diaz. "Take William to the van. Remember, the Green Arrow is sure to follow."

"That's what I'm hoping for."

Diaz grabs William by the back of his shirt and lets go of his neck, allowing him to breathe. As William dangles and regains his breath, he struggles to get out of Diaz's hold.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go…"

* * *

"…Let me go! Let me go!"

"William! William!"

William's eyes flash open and his screams are replaced with hyperventilating. He sees the morning light pouring into the room and Felicity standing over him. He looks down at the couch, seeing the blanket on the floor, crumpled from the bottom of it as if it was punched.

"You're all right. You were in a nightmare."

"No! No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory."

William looks back up to Felicity, his look of horror unable to match how he is feeling when he tells her, "I've been kidnapped."

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Hello Readers! I know there are going to be a lot of questions from people who have watched the show about why there are no flash forwards in this chapter. Well, after a little thinking, I've decided to push them aside for now to instead focus on younger William and set up one of the scenarios for the next chapter. Don't worry. They will be back in the next one.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Don't forget to leave a review, like it if you did, and follow this story if you want to know when the next chapter comes out. Also, if you want to, share this with anyone you think will also like this story. See you all later and have a great day!


	6. Episode 5: Perversion

**Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references from DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

Episode 5: Perversion

* * *

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _But my goal is put on hold when my younger self gets kidnapped by Diaz_

 _Now, with the help of the old Team Arrow, we will mount a rescue so I can continue to fight crime as someone else_

 _As something else_

 _I am…I'm…I'm…I-I'm…_

* * *

"William!"

William refocuses himself back into reality. He finds himself in the portable base, barely able to remember him and Felicity asking John, Curtis, and Rene for help after his younger self got kidnapped. The memories of the new, developing timeline still overwhelm him, especially of him in what looks like a van, separated from the other students. He can see people in cloaks, belittling him and his father. He can remember the anger his younger self is feeling, even though it is happening right now.

He looks to Felicity, who is kneeling next to him with a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just…a little dazed."

"Well, it looks like to us that you're conflicting with younger you's timeline." They look to Curtis, who is sitting at the computer. "Which also means that you're getting worse."

"Yeah. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Curtis."

William and Felicity hear steps coming inside. They turn to see John wearing his ARGUS uniform, followed by Rene, who decided to slip into his hockey mask, blue sweatshirt and ballistic vest.

Felicity shoots up. "Well? Did you find anything?"

John shakes his head. "Nothing. The whole school's empty and there's no trace of where the students or faculty may have gone."

"Whoever Diaz is working with, their like ghosts."

Curtis spins the chair around to face everyone. "You can say that again. I've been trying to find any intel on the school and the Dean. They don't show up at all."

Felicity starts to pace back and forth. "Well, there's got to be something. We can probably-"

William tries to listen but starts to lose focus again. The memories are starting to flood in his mind. _No! Focus on something else. Keep a tether to this reality. Focus on another memory. Focus. Focus…_

* * *

 _As he and Roy walked the deserted street entering Star City, he didn't like what he was seeing. The few buildings he saw were old and abandoned, the white marbled columns holding up the old track above them looked like it was somewhat in disrepair. On one of the pillars was the spray-painted mask of Deathstroke, the symbol of Kane Wolfman, who was almost running the city at this point._

 _Roy summarized the city's predicament, "Star City has seen better days."_

" _I always wanted to come back here, but only when I got word from Dad or Felicity. Guess I came back a bit late."_

" _That makes one of us."_

 _Suddenly, William heard the beeping of the hozen in his pocket. He took it out and pulled it apart, looking at the coordinates._

" _The coordinates have changed. Something must have triggered it."_

" _Felicity. She must know we're here. Let's see where it leads us…where it leads us…it leads…leads."_

* * *

"The hozen!"

Everyone turns to William, looking confused.

William looks up to them, to Felicity in particular. "Felicity, the day before sending me to Cambridge, you gave me the hozen as a parting gift. I later discovered it had a GPS built into it-"

"In case I needed you to find me in an emergency. Of course! How did I forget that?!" Felicity walks over next to Curtis. "Can I just-"

"Oh, yeah. Of course." Curtis moves from the chair to let Felicity sit down. She immediately gets to work.

"The GPS inside the hozen has a very specific signal, so I should be able to track it easily. I should be able to lock onto it…now! Got it."

Everyone looks at the screen, seeing two red dots. One of them is here, probably from future William's hozen, and another red dot going down the road that leads to the highways going into Bloodhaven and Gotham.

"That's a bit far out, but we can still catch up to them. Keep monitoring the signal." John moves quickly to the front of the van. "Everybody sit down and hold tight!" They then feel the van move quickly in the direction of Younger William and Diaz.

Somehow, as they move faster, future William can feel his dizziness fade slightly, the newer memories becoming less overwhelming. He knows what this means: they're getting the future back on track.

* * *

Oliver opens his eyes, no longer being greeted by a constant noise or flickering light bulbs. He expected this since Dr. Parker's interrogations are over. He should feel relief, glad that he doesn't have to go through with this anymore. But he doesn't. Instead, his mind is focused on the purpose that brought him here in the first place: finding Diaz's informant.

He looks at the photo of his wife and son that he kept on his chest the whole night. The instant he sees the face of William, the words that he told Oliver run through his mind, _"Be the hero…be the dad I know you are."_

Suddenly, he hears the door open. Oliver leans up a bit, oddly enough not seeing Dr. Parker. Instead, it's a guard with a bald head accompanied by two other people. The two others are wearing white, but not the standard guard uniforms.

"On your feet, 4587."

Oliver somewhat complies, sitting up on the side of his bed. He doesn't look at the guard. "Who are you?"

"Your new best friend. Now, on your feet."

Oliver fully complies this time, standing up. He walks over to the guard, ready to be escorted.

"Hold out your hand."

Oliver lifts his left hand to the level of his torso. The guard takes out a metal wristband from his pocket. "This will be on you at all times to ensure the safety of yourself and others around you."

The guard locks the wristband in place, a red dot flashing on it for a brief moment.

"Where's Dr. Parker?"

The guard gives a small, eager smile. "He said you're ready for phase 2, which means your mine now."

"Where are you taking me?"

The guard's smile becomes a bit more sinister. "Down the rabbit hole."

Seeing that Oliver is not going to get much information, he let the guard escort him out, the two others by their sides. As he walks out, Oliver hopes that things are going okay on William's end.

* * *

As the car they are in moves, William searches for something, anything that can get him free of the cuffs. He looks to the cloaked person next to him, seeing that he is wielding a knife, which could probably get him out. But there is a chance that he and the other one across from them will notice if William made any suspicious moves.

As William leaned back in his seat, he can feel a paper clip just touching his fingertips. _Perfect._ He picks up the paper clip and unbends the tip. He gets to work on unlocking the cuffs behind him slowly, trying not to draw any attention to himself.

It takes him a few minutes since he is just figuring out how this works, pausing when he believes he is being watched, feeling a bit in suspense like in the movies. Eventually, William unlocks the cuffs and slowly removes them. Luckily, the cloaked person next to him is on the phone reading a text, so William doesn't get spotted slightly moving the cuffs behind him and sitting up so nobody can notice he isn't cuffed anymore. Now he just needs to wait for the right time to escape.

"Hey!" The voice of the cloaked man across from him startles William. "What were you doing just now?"

 _Damn it. I guess I wasn't being subtle enough._

The cloaked man next to William looks away from his phone, trying to glimpse at William's hands. William turns a bit, not giving both of them a chance to see his hands. As he does, he notices a van which seemed to be trying to pass them but doesn't do so.

His attention then goes back to the cloaked men. "Nothing."

"Let us see your hands William."

He shakes his head. "No."

The man next to William tries to grab him. "He said show us your-"

Suddenly, a loud noise is heard from the top of the car. Very faint silhouettes of people can be seen, one of them reaching and aiming something that looked very much like… _an arrow?_

The arrow breaks through the glass sunroof, making the two hooded figures and William flinch back defensively. The two silhouettes jump through the sun roof, revealing themselves to be… _Mr. Diggle and the Green Arrow side by side? Is it…Dad?_

* * *

 _Three men. Hooded. One of them is driving the car, Another in front of me, and the third behind me and in front of John. The one in front of me will go for my younger self and use him as a shield. Incapacitate him first while Diggle goes for the other two._

William quickly goes for a palm strike to the neck. The hooded man grabs the wrist and tries to return one of his own. William grabs it, interlocking each other with wrist grabs.

 _Multitude of options. The spacing between here and the driver's seat is large enough for a ground submission but is impossible due to the buckled seatbelt. Use this opportunity to get in closer, then unbuckle and bring him down for a chokehold or pin._

In one fluid motion, William pulls himself closer towards his opponent while freeing his wrist and pinning both arms, one with his free hand and the other on the buckle side with his body, keeping it trapped between their torsos. He then goes for the buckle while the hooded man tries to break free, making it hard for William to press the buckle's button.

Meanwhile, after trading a few punches and blocks, John manages to exploit an opening with a hook to the other hooded man's face. The punch is hard enough that the man is knocked out cold. He then moves up to the driver's seat and takes out his gun, aiming it at the hooded driver.

"Stop the car!"

The driver smiles. "If you insist!"

The driver slams on the breaks, sending John flying out of the windshield and onto the road.

By this time, William has successfully unbuckled the seat of the hooded man, so both of them fall to the ground. Seeing the hooded man on top of him, William immediately flips them over. He then finds John getting up and then, knowing what the driver may do, he first takes out an arrow and shoots it at the driver's hand. The driver, soon after having his palm pierced, cries out in pain. With a few seconds at least in his hands, William immediately knocks out the hooded man pinned under him with his bow.

He was about to take a concussion arrow and shoot it at the driver. He stops himself when he sees Rene already knocking him out with the butt end of his handgun.

William gets off of the hooded man and leans on the side of the car, taking a breath or two. As he lets himself relax, he notices the phone his younger self saw slightly out of the hooded man's pocket. As important as it may be, he does not go for it just yet.

Instead, he looks at his younger self, knowing that he feels uncertainty of who the man in the costume like his father's is and knows what suspicion is in his mind.

He stops himself before he can ask. "No. I'm not Dad."

As he says this, he reaches in for the hozen and presents it to his younger self. Taking this as some sort of badge for a secret society Felicity never mentioned, Younger William takes it out too and holds it out. He then pulls it apart, showing the GPS inside. Younger William does the same thing, looking at it with both curiosity and confusion.

He looks back to Future William. "Who are you?"

Future William can feel a bit of doubt in his younger self's mind. It isn't much, but enough to say that he's not going anywhere without a proper answer.

A stubbornness he knew wouldn't be broken easily. So, he switches his white lenses out and lowers his face mask. His appearance does not ring a bell in his younger self's mind but does find it familiar.

Future William then says, "I'm you."

The statement made his younger self's eyes go wide and his jaw drop. He stares at his future self, not knowing how to process the information. Part of him thinks that this is some sort of trick while another part of him wanted to believe that it isn't because this would be the most awesome thing he's seen in his life.

"William?!"

The sound of Felicity's voice breaks younger William from his contemplation, his mind now filling with concern, worried about Felicity being disappointed in him if she found out about him trying to run away from Boarding School.

"It's alright. She knows about us running away from Cambridge. She understands."

Future William can feel younger William becoming a bit more relaxed, but not very. Future William nods his head to the car door.

"Go."

Even with so many questions in Younger William's head, he doesn't hesitate to unbuckle his seatbelt and exit the car. Even as Young William closes the car door, Future William can see, through his memories, Felicity running up to him and giving the biggest hug he now remembers.

He can see tears of joy stream down her face. _"Oh William, I'm so glad you're okay."_

The last thought Future William hears his younger self think as he hugs her back is _She said she would come back for me. And she did._

 _Little do you know, it's the other way around._

Then, the car door next to Future William opens, Rene stepping in.

"Hey. William, you alright?"

"I'm fine. How's John."

"He's good. He went back into the van to try and find the other kids."

"I don't see how-"

Remembering the phone, Future William leans over and picks it from the hooded man's pocket. He goes into the text app, seeing recent ones from a name he doesn't recognize. The oldest one says, **"All buses are now heading to Bloodhaven. Confirm you are heading for Gotham?"** After that is a response text.

 _So they were heading for Gotham and Bloodhaven? Why send younger me there?_

The most recent text is an odd one. It says, **"This is the Dragon. Batson, aka Shazam, and other students escaped. Heading towards Central City. Do not divert buses. Will take care of it."**

He recognizes the code name "Dragon" as the alias used by Diaz in Dante's list of clients. As glad as he is to see that Billy escaped, he can't help but wonder why they are calling him Shazam.

Regardless, William is now faced with a dilemma. He can't let those students be taken to Bloodhaven, but he can't let his only friend from boarding school, and more than a dozen others get captured, especially if he is somehow important to Dante.

 _But…_

William remembers something. In the data he got from ARGUS' mainframe, he found a series of secret outposts they've established in case they needed to ambush the enemy or stop them in their tracks. One of those outposts lies between here and Bloodhaven. If John can pull a few strings, then ARGUS can save the students while he and the others save Billy from being captured by Diaz.

"Will." William turns back to Rene, who is looking at him and the phone with a curious look. "What is it?"

William holds up the phone with a smirk. "Our best bet."

* * *

"Welcome home."

Oliver is led down a large room that looks like a mix of a cell block and a mess hall. On his left are a few tables, not as big as the ones in the mess hall but can still seat quite a few people. On his right are the cells, which are structured somewhat differently to the ones above.

As they go towards another set of cells, Oliver sees a prisoner being dragged to a door at the far-left corner of the room, the prisoner struggling in what looks like fear.

"Where are they taking him?"

The guard leans a bit towards Oliver's ear. "Pray you don't find out."

As they walk to an empty cell which Oliver believes is his, he catches a glimpse at a familiar face. Oliver stops dead in his tracks, seeing one of the prisoners who attacked him in the showers, the one who gave him the false message of Felicity's "death." The man looks down and turns away.

"Friend of yours?"

Without looking at the guard, Oliver shakes his head, his anger somewhat rising. "No."

Oliver feels the guard's hand on his shoulder. "Is there a problem, inmate?"

Knowing that the guard may be looking for any excuse to hurt him, Oliver turns around and politely answers, "No."

The guard leads Oliver into his cell and shuts it. Before the guard leaves, Oliver asks, "When is visitation?"

The guard turns. "There is no visitation."

Oliver becomes a bit befuddled. "What do you mean?"

A sinister smirk forms on the guard's face. "If I were you, I would forget about the people you care about. Eventually, they'll forget about you. That's what happens to everyone here."

The guard then walks away towards the cell of the inmate he spotted. Coming towards him are a couple of other guards.

"Take this one."

The inmate cowers back. "No. No, please. We already did the therapy. Get away from-"

As the inmate tries to fend them off, the guard presses a button, which follows with the inmate becoming spastic as he falls to the floor, his teeth clenched in pain. Oliver also notices that the wristband dot light shines as this is happening.

 _A shock collar._

The inmate, looking somewhat conscious, is taken towards the door that Oliver saw. As it opened, Oliver couldn't see much but a couple of silver tables. The door closes shut before Oliver can get a better view in there.

Oliver is now left with concern running through his mind. _If I can't see Felicity or anyone else, how am I supposed to tell them about what information I find? What if…what if I never see them again?_

His thoughts are interrupted by Oliver's keen awareness detecting that he is being watched. He looks to one of the cells across from him, catching sight of a blonde woman who retreats into her cell quickly.

As Oliver is about to ask himself who that was, he looks down to see a small piece of paper in front of his cell door. He bends down and picks it up through the horizontal bars. He unwraps it to find a message that says _The Demon knows you're here and will meet you tonight after lights out._

 _Wait. Is this from-_

As confused as he was about why this information was given to him, he is glad to know that the Demon will come to him. It's about time they met face to face.

* * *

"…And the detective vision comes from a discreet Wayne Tech Satellite that I hijacked a few months back, so don't worry about anyone tracking it to us. Just stay on comms and keep John and Curtis posted."

"Got it."

Now finished with showing Felicity how she can help John and Curtis when they are about to execute their part of the plan, he sits down next to Younger William, who is messing around with a rubix cube that Felicity lent him. He sees the recognizable pattern, one color making up the outer rim surrounding a cube of another color.

"A cube within a cube."

Younger William doesn't look up, Future William sensing how overwhelmed he is from having been explained about time travel and what Future William has been doing over the past month. Future William knows this is one of the ways he keeps his mind off of things when growing up.

"Yeah, Felicity told me that solving a rubix cube is-"

"Is a lot like running an algorithm since they're puzzles within puzzles. I've learned a new one, if you want to see it."

Curious, Younger William lent the cube to future him. He began to turn the cubes as he said, "A friend of mine called this 'a cube within a cube within a cube within a cube, or 3 cubes for short.'"

He hands it to Younger William, who looks at the new pattern, which is similar to the last one, except there is one colored cube surrounded by an 3-cubed rim within the outer rim.

Young William smirks and looks up to future him. "Nice."

"Hey." Both Williams and Felicity turn their attention to Rene, who is driving as fast as he can to where Billy may have gone. "I know that you know this kid a lot, but how do you know he's going to his old family's house?"

"His foster family's house, Mr. Ramirez. He's an orphan. He told me that he lived with this family for a whole year. They sent him to Cambridge so they could move to the city after getting a new position. They were going to get him back after he finished one year there."

"Most likely, Billy will head to the old house to hide and call the parents from there."

"And you would be right. I just intercepted a call coming from the address you described. A cell phone that matches your friend's."

"That means Diaz won't be far behind. How close are we to Central City Rene?"

"Still a bit far, but we should get there in time. What about John and Curtis? You think they don't need help saving those other kids?"

"They have help from ARGUS. And I trust them to get the job done. I know John hasn't let me down before in the past."

"You mean recently in the past or in the future?"

Future William takes note of Felicity's question. "Both."

* * *

 _William found it a little strange that the coordinates would lead him and Roy into what were now the ruins of Smoak Tech. He would've thought it would be somewhere familiar or much more concealed. But he guessed that a place no one would ever go near was a good place as any._

" _Smoak Tech. It must've been something in it's hay day."_

 _They walk into a room that was larger than the other rooms they passed, with a couple of worktables, a secretary's desk outside the entrance, and a more pristine desk at the far end of the room._

" _This must be her office. But why lead me here and not just meet me face to face?"_

 _Roy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."_

 _William picked up a device from one of the worktables. He couldn't help but give a small smile. "You know, after everything that happened, she still inspired me to go into the tech business."_

" _And did Oliver inspire you to become a vigilante?"_

 _William turned to Roy, his smile now sarcastic. "I guess time on the island didn't affect your deduction skills. And yes, he did."_

" _Then you're a lot more forgiving than I am."_

"' _Forgive, and you will be forgiven.' At least, that's what I hope will happ-"_

 _William stopped when his eyes saw a circular black screen on the wall behind the desk. He put the device down and went to it, Roy following behind. He waved his hand in front of it and, as he expected, a hologram appeared, showing a very familiar program, at least to William._

" _I know this. Felicity showed these to me in New Haven. Back then, they were a set of designs."_

" _Can you hack it?"_

" _It's a very old model, so yeah." William went to work, using his knowledge of computers and his memory of the designs to hack the program. "Just a little cursive algorithm followed by a little Felicity special."_

 _After doing this, the hologram disappeared. A part of the wall opened, revealing a small bag inside. William grabbed it and hooked it around his belt._

" _Alright, let's get to someplace safe so we can-"_

" _Freeze!"_

 _William and Roy turned around to see two police officers aiming at them._

" _This is a restricted area! Put your weapons on the ground now!"_

 _William proceeded to take off his quiver. When Roy didn't do the same, William whispered, "Do as they say."_

" _They won't go easy on us."_

" _Just do it and wait for the signal."_

 _Hesitantly, Roy did the same, putting his quiver at his feet._

" _Now the bows!"_

 _William and Roy unsheathed their bows, slowly crouching down to their quivers._

" _Now!"_

 _Simultaneously, they took out arrows and send them flying at the handguns, disarming the cops of their weapons. They then rushed in and took them down, Roy going in for a tackle and an elbow to the face while William went for a hip throw and a punch to knock the other one out._

 _After taking them down, they heard shots and the crashing of walls beyond the door they came from. They go back to their quivers, slung them over their shoulders, and quickly readied their arrows._

 _As the door came crashing down, they see another police officer going down with it. Coming through the doorway was someone wearing a helmet with a black visor and light kevlar armor on. He looked at them and aimed his gun._

 _Seeing that he wasn't another cop, William and Roy relinquish their arrows and put their hands._

" _Whoa, Whoa, wait! We're friendly!"_

 _William didn't know if the man believed him or if he recognized him, but as soon as they surrendered, he lowered his gun and stepped forward._

" _It can't be."_

 _The man removed his helmet, revealing a man with a somewhat wrinkled face, a mix of black and white hair, and the eyes of a man who had been through too much pain,_

" _Roy? William?"_

 _Upon a more detailed look and hearing the man's voice, Roy and William's eyes went wide in surprise._

" _John?"_

" _Mr. Diggle?"_

 _John cracks a half smile, his wrinkles becoming somewhat more profound. "Goddamn. It's good to see you two here. But you shouldn't have come back."_

* * *

John, Curtis, and a dozen other ARGUS agents laid prone on either side of the road, hidden in the grass and shadows. Curtis readies his remote control while John and the other agents ready their rifles. As expected, 3 buses can be seen far down the road from their position.

John gets on the comm to Felicity. "Overwatch, 3 buses heading our way and the road barrier is set up."

" **Copy that. I got eyes inside each bus. There are only the drivers and students. Guess they're not expecting company."**

"Got it." He then turns to Curtis. "You ready with the T-spheres?"

"Yep. One for each tire. Just say the word."

"Good. Get ready."

The busses get closer and closer. As the lead bus' headlights shine on the barrier the agents set up, it starts to slow down, prompting the ones behind it to do the same. When they come to a complete stop, John waves his hand towards them as a signal to Curtis to use his T-spheres.

Working quickly, Curtis moves his T-spheres towards the tires and, with the small blades inside them, pops them one by one until all of them are flat, leaving the buses immobile.

"Okay. Buses are out of play."

John then gets on the comm to the other agents. "Move in. Now."

John and the other agents spring up and rush to the buses. Curtis hangs back, directing the T-spheres to follow them in case they are needed. John and two other agents take the lead bus, breaking the glass of the bus door to easily open it. They step inside, aiming their guns at the driver as they head inside.

"Freeze! Hands in the air!"

The driver complies. "Sir, there must be some misunderstanding. I'm a teacher taking these children to Bloodhaven for a field trip."

John grabs him by the collar and forces him up.

"We'll see about that in a moment. Curtis."

" **On it."**

As John restrains the man, the T-sphere scans the man's face.

" **Found him on the database, but his credentials are fake."**

"You're lying. You were a teacher at a fake boarding school and now you were about to bring these students to Bloodhaven against their wills."

The man looks back at him with surprise. "How do you-"

"You're under arrest for abducting these children and any other students over the years." John turns to the other agents who are proceeding down the aisle, checking up on the children. "Get them to the outpost and back to their parents. I'll bring him in."

As John brings the man outside, he calls Felicity. "Overwatch, we have the students. What's your status?"

" **Nearing Billy Batson's place now. We'll call you when we have him."**

"Copy that…"

* * *

"… **John out."**

Night begins to fall as Rene parks far from the address William gave him.

"We're here."

"I can see one person through detective vision. A child."

"It must be Billie."

"How did Billy manage to get that much distance from Ricardo Diaz along with the others?"

"A question I'm sure he'll answer when we see him. Rene, you're coming with us."

As Rene gets up from the driver's seat, He sees Felicity with a hand on Young William's shoulder as if keeping him from moving.

"Wait, wait, wait. You can't just bring your younger self in there. If Diaz catches up and-"

"Felicity, Billy is scared. He doesn't know who he can trust right now. He needs to see a familiar face in order to place his trust in us."

"I agree." Felicity looks down to Young William, probably a bit in disbelief at what he just said. "Felicity, I'll be fine."

Felicity takes a deep breath and then looks up to Future William. "The moment somebody comes in, your younger self gets out of there."

"Agreed."

Future William then puts on his masks and hood. He slings his quiver over his shoulder and sheaths his bow.

"Keep the lights off and stay on comms." He then puts a hand on his younger self's shoulder. "Ready?" His younger self nods. He then looks to Rene. "Let's go."

Rene and both William's head on out of the portable base and towards the house, hoping to find Billie before it's too late.

* * *

As they open the door, they are greeted by what looks like a living room, with two chairs and a couch surrounding a TV to the right side. To the left is a dinning room table and chairs. In front of them is a hallway with doors probably leading to various rooms, but the only open one is the one leading to a kitchen. There is also a set of stairs nearby.

Future William points to the stairs. "Billy should still be in one of the second-floor rooms. Let's go."

As they walk towards the stairs, both Williams can't help but look at their surroundings. It all looks so…familiar.

As they go up the stairs, Younger William echos their feeling, "This place looks a lot like my old-our old house."

"I know, but we shouldn't dwell on it."

As they reach the second floor, Future William turns on his detective vision, seeing Billy in the same place as he was when they got here.

"Rene, wait by the stairs."

They slowly approach the door, Future William keeping an eye on Billy through the detective vision. Younger William knocks on the door. Future William can see Billy ready to do something but is hesitant to do it. He seems to be expecting somebody but doesn't know whether or not they are there.

Younger William calls out, "Billy? Billy, it's me. William."

Billy starts to relax. "William? Are-are you alone?"

"I'm-" He turns to his future self, looking for permission to reveal him to Billy. He gives a quick nod. "I'm with the Green Arrow."

"Seriously?! Okay, give me a sec."

Younger William steps back as he hears the door unlock. As it opens, future William turns off his detective vision, seeing Billy oddly unharmed. As he looks upon future William, who he sees as the Green Arrow, his jaw drops in awe. Both Williams know how much of a fan Billy is of the Green Arrow and the Flash. It was practically the first thing he brought up when they met, and once they talked about which hero would prevail in a fight to the death. Now, to see a Green Arrow in person must be a dream come true for him.

"Oh my God. You are him. Well, you're another him, but you look so much cooler."

"Billy Batson. There were other students on that bus with you. Where are they?"

Billy then regains his composure. "Oh, right. They're in the basement. I was going to divert the attention of whoever was coming to me while they escaped."

"Wait. I couldn't find-" William turns his detective vision on again, looking downward. He doesn't see anything at first, but then sees a little gleam that comes up every second or so that is hard to detect unless looking at it very carefully. "Optic deflection camouflage."

"Wait. I thought you said your parents were working for a small-time company."

"They are. They work for Wayne tech at one of their newest offsite companies in Central City. They turned that off when they left, but I knew how to turn it on again. Just in case, you know."

"That still doesn't explain why they deem you a high valued target. Why do they call you Shazam?"

"Oh. Well, you see-"

" **William."**

Future William puts a hand up. "Hold on. What is it Overwatch?"

" **Someone's heading your way."**

"Diaz?"

" **No, some guy in a…dark hoodie."**

"Dark hoodie?" Future William rushes over to the window and looks out towards the front yard. He sees someone, as described, in a dark hood coming towards the house. In his experience and probably the experience of all of team Arrow, it meant someone bringing trouble and probably an army of ninjas with him. But that wasn't the interesting part. What catches his eye is a long sword with a faint white hue that he instantly recognizes. _It can't be._

He quickly turns to Billy. "Billy, is there another way out of here besides the front door?"

"Um, yeah. There's a back door in the kitchen."

"Good." William rushes to Rene. "Get the other students and get to the portable base. There's a good chance that if Diaz is here, he may have found Felicity."

"Wait, if that's so, how are we gonna get out of here?"

"With backup. Just wait for me to get outside then take the back door. Okay?"

Rene nods, prompting Future William to go downstairs. As he does, he places a call to the only group of people that can get them out of this.

"Come on, Nora. Pick up."

* * *

Oliver lies in the darkness, pretending to be asleep for when the Demon comes to him. As expected, he hears the door to his cell open and close, followed by the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

As he sees a hand hovering over his face, he grabs it and rolls off the bed. As soon as he did, the Demon employed a wrist escape and back steps away. The Demon then comes in with a series of punches, Oliver employing high and low blocks. Focused on the punches, he didn't see the leg that kicks him and forces him down on his knee. As the Demon goes for another punch, Oliver grabs it in time and uses the Demon's momentum to throw the Demon to the ground.

He then raises his fist, ready to…he stops himself, seeing who it is. A face he thought he would never see again.

"Talia?"

Talia gives a little smirk. "Hello Oliver. I heard you were looking for the Demon."

Oliver lets go of Talia's wrist and stands up. He lets her get up as well, but doesn't offer to help her. To him, she is still the one who supported Adrian Chase, aka Prometheus, the man who killed William's mother.

As she finally stands, she grunts a bit. "I see you've improved since last we met."

"You survived Lian Yu?"

"Barely. Ricardo Diaz found me after the explosion. He gave me one of his drugs and helped me regain my strength."

"So, it was you. You told Brick to hire the men who attacked me in the showers. You did it so Diaz-"

"No. Even though he healed me, he is not the one I am indebted to. Ricardo Diaz, Adrian Chase…they are pawns in someone else's game. They may claim that they were hired by an anonymous benefactor named Dante, but that is a lie. Their real master is a man going by the name of the Deacon."

"The Deacon?"

"The last surviving member of the Order of St. Dismas, a group of Warriors created by a crusader that my father once fought alongside with. He and the Order had a strong alliance until it was destroyed."

"If it's not the Order, then what cult is this Deacon leading?"

"The Ninth Circle. I don't know much about them, but they are the same people that ordered Adrian Chase to kidnap your son. The same people that probably have him even now."

Oliver's eyes then grow wide. "Now? You mean they kidnapped my son? Why? He's just a kid. He's an innocent."

"He's also the Green Arrow." Oliver becomes more surprised "Did you really think they wouldn't find out?"

"How?"

"All I can say is that it's not because of what he is. It's because of his mother…and the debt she owes."

"What debt?"

* * *

Future William opens the door and steps outside, his bow in hand. He looks to the stranger, whose face he can now somewhat see because it is covered by a mask. The mask looks like that of a hellish demon, which he expects all former members of the Order of St. Dismas to be like.

William slowly walks down the stairs, preparing himself to take out an arrow at any moment. The stranger does not move, showing no signs of attack.

"I knew you would be here. In fact, I hoped you would be here."

"What do you want with Billy Batson?"

"The same thing we want with you…William."

The fact that the stranger knows who he is didn't surprise Future William. He was more focused on discerning the voice. It was hidden by a voice modulator that made him sound as demonic as he looked. However, it did hide an accent he cannot easily discern.

"The same thing we want for all our students. A chance to be one of us."

"I'm well aware of what you are. Your sword gives it away."

"Though I carry the sword of Azrael, I do not claim to be one. I am the Deacon of our great St. Dismas. The last Deacon in existence, and the one who will carry on his will."

"Dismas was a crazy crusader who only lived for the thrill of violence, and his Order was equally as insane and perverts God's holy will."

"God's will is that this world of sin be cleansed by his holy fires. But he loves his children. He loves us so much that he cannot bear to do it. St. Dismas knew this. He knew we were inherent to violence for a reason. To wipe sin clean from our world, we must destroy it at it's root. It is what we have done for hundreds of years and what I continue to do still, especially to your precious Star City."

"So, it was you then. You were going to buy Stent's weapons, use an energy weapon to destroy Star City, sent Wolfman to try and take me down, and hired Cortez to set off fires in the Glades."

Future William steps a little further, readying himself. "And if I'm correct-" he spins around behind him, taking out and aiming an arrow at the person he found with his detective vision, looking at who he used to know as the Dean of his school dead in the eyes. "-You're probably Dante."

Dante, who is holding a couple of knives in his hand, smirks. "How did you know?"

"When you couldn't be found on any database, not even on your list of clients, I had to assume that the fake school was something you funded and ran yourself. I guess I was correct."

"You are a smart one, aren't you? As much as we want you to be a part of us, you have been a thorn on our side. Not getting our hands on weapons is one thing and burned down property only has a 50/50 chance of starting a riot." Dante pulls out his phone, bringing up a text message that says " _Got captured. ARGUS agents stopping us. Mission failed."_ "But now I get this, which seems to me like a big coincidence, leading me to believe that you actually told those former vigilantes who you are and roped them into this. Do you know how much I put into recruitment like that?"

"You were taking children away to be brainwashed! It's probably what you do to every child who you bring into your cult."

"Not all of our recruits were just snatched off the streets William. Not all of them were put into our schools. Some came to us willingly…like your mother."

Future William's eyes grow wide, his jaw dropping a bit under his mask. After a moment of processing what he heard, he shakes his head. "No! You're lying! My mother would never-"

"Your mother was one of us William. She was our best. And she was my friend. You can even say that…I loved her." The sinister smirk on Dante's face falls into a saddened, disappointed look, as if remembering William's mom is a burden for him. "But she became…disillusioned with our organization. She wanted to leave it. But we do not let people leave easily. In exchange for her freedom, she needed to give us someone to take her place."

* * *

"Okay, so the Ninth Circle needed Samantha to find someone else. What does this have to do with William?"

"They don't take just anyone to replace someone Oliver. They want someone whom they can mold easily. Someone whose mind is susceptible to their propaganda. They wanted a child."

"Wait. You mean…"

* * *

William tugged back on the bow string hard. "You mean to tell me that you forced my mother to conceive a child with my father?!"

"We did not make her do that! I wanted her to stay! I wanted her to be with me!" Dante's growl looked like it is hiding his attempt to fight off a couple of tears. "I loved her. I wanted to have a child with her. We would've made our child the future of our organization. But…she didn't love me. She loved him!"

William detracts on the bow by a bit. "She…she loved my father?"

"I don't know what she saw in him. Or in you! A few days after she gave birth, when we were supposed to pick you up, you were gone as was she. She managed to hide from us until the day you were kidnapped by Damien Darkh. We tracked you and her and sent Adrian Chase to take you back to us."

"Adrian Chase?" William starts to breath heavily. "You…you sent him after us?" William pulled on the bow string even tighter. "You're responsible for my mother's death?!"

"She got what she deserved! She betrayed us and paid the price. Besides, don't pretend that her death wasn't your fault as well." William's bow string once again detracts, his arms shaking a bit.

* * *

Oliver sits on his bed, letting the new information told to him process in his mind. Hearing that Adrian Chase was sent to both kill him and take William to be brainwashed by some cult, yet that Samantha also loved Oliver, he doesn't know whether to feel angry or sympathetic. Maybe feel both at the same time, if that's possible.

After a while, Oliver remembers that Talia broke in here and for a reason. He looks up to her.

"I don't think you came in here just to tell me all of this?"

"Among other things, I come to you with an offer. There is a way out of here, but it isn't an easy route. The exits are heavily guarded and these…" She holds up the metal wristband. "…send thousands of volts into our body whenever we do something foolish. What we are about to do is a three-person job."

Oliver tries to think of anyone else he has met in here that would do something as dangerous as what Talia describes. He then remembers the person who warned him about Talia's presence tonight.

"The blonde woman."

"Yes. She and I came up with the plan, and now all we need is you."

"Why me? Aren't you working with the Deacon?"

"I did as he asked. I knew that as soon as I did, he would leave me here to rot. But, little did he know that bringing you here is as much a boon for me as it is his. Now, I need to escape, and I need your help. So, what do you say? Get out of here, save your family?"

Oliver hesitates to answer. The offer is appealing, but what is the cost? Him being branded a runaway criminal? Then again, with the possibility of William, past and future, being in danger, it must be worth the cost.

But those prospects are not what make him hesitate. What makes him hesitate is that he remembers what he did to William to get here, what he made William witness, not trusting William, even before he knew he is the Green Arrow. Maybe, this time, he should have faith that William has it handled.

* * *

"Rene, are you on your way?"

" **Yeah, just taking the long way through the woods. Nearing you…oh crap."**

"What?"

"Diaz is heading right for you."

"What? Where's-" As Felicity looks to the back of the van, she sees Diaz with a grin on his face, coming towards her. "Oh frak."

Remembering that John brought along something that can remove the mirakuru from Diaz's body, Felicity goes to the armory and frantically searches for it.

 _Come on, come on. Where was that mirakuru antidote?_

Suddenly, she hears the sound of the door, looking to see it being ripped from its hinges. Seeing that it is too late, she grabs a baton and retreats to the back of the van.

As Diaz steps inside, his grin turns into a grim smile. "Hello Felicity."

* * *

Mr. Ramirez looks towards the van where Ricardo Diaz is cornering Felicity and back to young William and the other students, probably indecisive on what to prioritize.

William gives the answer, "Save her!"

Rene nods and points to them. "All of you stay here! William, keep an eye on them."

Mr. Ramirez takes out his gun and runs towards the van. William does as he is told, motioning everyone to stay down, fearing that there may be others around. They all do so, except for Billy. As William waves down more and more, getting frustrated every minute, Billy looks like he is about to shout something.

Before William can force Billy to get down, lightning, of all things, pushes him away as Billy says, "Shazam!"

* * *

As Rene steps quietly into the van, he sees Felicity hitting Diaz with a baton, each hit not even making him flinch. Diaz then catches the baton, flings it to the side, and grabs Felicity by the neck.

Rene aims his pistol at Diaz's head. "Hey!" Diaz turns around, a grin on his face. "Put her down."

"Ramirez. Last time I saw you was when I used your daughter as leverage. How is she by the way?"

"I said let her go!"

"Make me."

Rene then shoots at the arm, hoping the pain will make Diaz lose his grip. Surprisingly, the bullet does nothing but crumple upon contact and fall to the floor. It didn't even make Diaz bleed. He then remembers what Future William said about mirakuru, now feeling a bit dumb for forgetting.

 _Oh. Right._

Diaz chuckles. "Guess this is your first time fighting against someone with mirakuru. A little rule of thumb: I'm nearly indestructible. Bullets can't hurt me." Diaz then turns his head to Felicity. "Now, you get to watch as I crush Felicity into-"

Suddenly, something or someone breaks through the roof of the van, grabs Diaz, and pins him to the side. Felicity falls to her knees and gasps for air. As the dust settles, Rene sees something he'd never though he'd ever see in his life, something out of a comic book. A man with black hair, red spandex, and a white cape. Both the spandex and cape have a large yellow lightning symbol on them.

"Hey there, buddy." The man grabs Diaz by the shirt. "Let's take this outside."

The man then flies with Diaz outside through the newly made hole. Rene runs to it, seeing the man throwing Diaz onto the street.

Rene helps Felicity onto her feet. "Felicity. You alright?"

Felicity tries to catch her breath as she stands. "Yeah. Who the hell was that?"

"I don't know, but he looked like something out of those comics Zoey started buying."

They go outside to see the man just stand there, letting Diaz get up. As Diaz charges at him, the man shoots lightning out of his hands, sending Diaz flying back across the street. Diaz gets back up and charges again. The man shoots lightning again, but Diaz dodges them as they come. Eventually, Diaz pushes the man's arm downward and gives him a punch to the face. The man stops the next punch with his palm and strikes Diaz with a sloppy but effective punch to push Diaz away.

The man then grabs Diaz and flies up into the air. He doesn't do anything except look at the ground, both Rene and Felicity confused about what the man intends.

"Guys!"

The sound of William's voice draws their attention, seeing him run towards them. Rene shows a bit of disappointment.

"Will, I thought I told you to keep an eye on the others."

"I tried, but then Billy-" Suddenly, the sound of someone crashing into the street caught their attention. They turn to see the man over a knocked-out Diaz. "-turned into that."

Felicity turned to William. "Wait, that's Billy?"

Rene's eyes are still on who they now know as Billy, who has a smile on his face and is giving a thumbs up.

"I think I got him!"

Suddenly, Diaz opens his eyes and stretches out his hands and legs to lock Billy into a hold. Diaz then flips them over, leans up, and pins both of Billy's arms to the ground.

"You're good kid, but I'm better."

He then headbutts Billy, which he follows up with slow, hard hitting punches that become faster and more aggressive each time. Before Rene can react, William runs up and stops just at a distance from Diaz.

"Stop!" Diaz stops punching and looks at William with gritting teeth. "It's me you want! Let him go!"

"No!" Felicity steps outside grabs William by the arm. William resists every attempt from Felicity to move. "William, come with me right now!"

"You know what?!" Diaz stands up, leaving Billy groaning in pain. "You're right. It's you I've wanted to kill for weeks. For these PAST 6 MONTHS!" Diaz slowly approaches them. Rene rushes in front of them, for all the good that it would do.

"I don't care what Deacon or Dante told me to do. I don't care about what deal your mother had to make by bringing you into the world!"

Rene is now a bit confused by what Diaz said, but it didn't matter to him right now. As they slowly step back, he looks at William, who looks to be shocked. "W-what?"

"All I care about is the look on your father's face when he survives his little 'rehab,' when he hears that his wife and son are TRULY DEA-"

* * *

Dante smirks. "Well, I think that was enough exposition, don't you Deacon?"

"Quite."

"What?"

Then came the sound of battle from afar, where Felicity Smoak is supposed to be. No doubt Billy Batson is using his secret abilities to take on Ricardo. Knowing Ricardo, though, Dante believes he has it handled.

"You might as well give up. Even if you deprived us of our other students, you won't deprive us of the last batch, especially your friend Batson. Your mother's debt shall be paid, and nothing can-"

* * *

They run as fast as they can, the world around them looking slow from their perspectives. Cars look as if traveling only 1 mile per hour, birds halfway flapping their wings. To the rest of the world, they are traveling almost at the speed of light, their red and purple streaks there one minute and the next gone.

Ahead of them is their destination, marked by the man, Ricardo Diaz, walking towards a defenseless Felicity and William.

As they run, his daughter gets ahead and looks to him, asking as she points at Diaz, "May I?"

Knowing what she is referencing, Flash gives a nod. "Okay, but make sure your speed is good enough before landing the punch. He does have mirakuru in him."

As they near Diaz, Nora brings her right arm back, readying her punch. As she nears Diaz, she extends her arm and gives a solid punch to the face, the force of it sending Diaz flying, slowly from their perspective, of course.

She keeps going, probably to get Green Arrow. He stops in front of William and Felicity, seeing them unharmed. As he comes back to normal speed, Diaz falls onto the street pavement out cold.

Felicity's face starts to form a smile of relief in his presence. "Barry."

"Felicity."

* * *

Before Dante could say anything more, a wisp of lightning suddenly zips by and William disappears out of thin air. Both of them are stunned by what they just saw, trying to comprehend what exactly that was. Then, they remember that they are near central city. There is one person they know of that patrols there and can pull something like that.

They both say with worry, "The Flash."

* * *

Nora, going by the name XS, swooshes back with Future William in tow. Felicity's attention turns to him, relief riddled on her face.

"William!"

"Felicity." He gives Felicity a quick hug. Following that, Felicity looks up and down William's body, probably looking for any injuries.

"Are you alright William?"

He puts his hands on Felicity's shoulders as he says, "Felicity, I'm fine."

"Billy!"

Their attention turns to Billy, who has somehow become an adult and is lying on the street. He looks like he's breathing but is seriously injured.

Flash quickly looks to Future William. "Where are the other students?"

Future William moves away from Felicity to point up towards the hill, recollecting his younger self's new memories. "Over there."

With the location confirmed, he gets on his comm. "Cisco, we're gonna need a breach at my location."

The breach appears out of thin air, making a couple of people who have never seen one before jump a bit, but others like Flash and Future William are unfazed by it. Immediately, Flash and XS zip by and take the students away and through the breach, one by one.

" _You're right about one thing. My son is the Green Arrow. I have seen news reports of all the things he's done, all the criminals he's stopped, all the life threatening situations he's lived through. If he can handle those, I know he can save himself and I believe that he isn't doing it alone."_

Meanwhile, Felicity and Young William retreat into the breach. Rene and Future William try to get Billy up on his feet and they slowly move towards it.

" _As much as I worry about him and my family, I know that they can handle whatever comes their way and that they can handle it together. My friends always do."_

Future William looks back, seeing the Deacon and Dante running towards them. But by the time they go through the breach, it closes behind them.

* * *

"So, whatever elaborate escape plan you have for escaping Level 2, you can count me out."

"Oliver, you don't understand. I am trying to get us out of certain death."

"Certain death? They reform criminals."

"No. They BREAK criminals. They want YOU to break. That's why you're down here. Our new mutual friend had firsthand experience with their methods, but for some reason, she wasn't killed."

"Probably because they thought she had been reformed."

"And do you remember the first criminal you noted down here? The one you put yourself in here to find. What do you think became of him?"

Oliver recalls what happened after the inmate was taken away. Strangely enough, sometime afterwards, the door did open again. The inmate wasn't seen, but the guards were rolling out a stroller with a… _black_ _bag._

Oliver starts to connect the dots. "Was that him…in the bag?"

Talia nods. "Now you know their true colors. Now, if you're convinced, let us plan-"

"No."

Talia gives a surprised look. "I just told you what this place truly is."

"And now I know that everyone here is in danger. We need to do more than just escape this place. We need to expose it. Shut it down."

"And how do you suppose we do that, because-"

"We go in there." Oliver points to the direction of the mysterious door. "If there is any evidence of Dr. Parker's operation, it's got to be in the one place they don't let just anyone into. Besides, you said your friend was in there before, so she had to have told you that there is something in there that can be used as credible evidence. Did she?" Talia doesn't answer, but the silence is enough of an answer for Oliver. "You help me, I get you and your friend out. Deal?"

Oliver extends his hand out. Talia looks at it, then at him. Oliver can't tell whether she's uncertain or hesitant. After a little while, she smirks.

"You were always stubborn to work with."

She then takes Oliver's hand and shakes on it, solidifying their deal.

* * *

Rene paces back and forth and keeps looking at his watch, waiting for Felicity and Future William to come back home. Apparently, according to Future William, he was bound to somehow go to another Earth where he meets his mentor. He never made clear how he did this, nor did they ask. Rene and Felicity just trusted that he knew what he was talking about.

The entrance opens, Barry Allen walking in wearing normal clothing. He looks at Rene with a concerned stare. "You okay Wild dog?"

Rene stops and takes a deep breath. "They've been gone for too long. That's all. I just…I just thought I would be getting Zoe out of the hospital by now and relaxing back home."

Barry Allen places a hand on Rene's shoulder. "They'll be back."

As he says this, a breach opens in front of out of the portal was Felicity and Future William, who is holding a duffle bag in his hand. There is no sign of Younger William, meaning that he has been dropped off to where he needed to go.

Rene walks towards them. "So, did you drop him off?"

"Yeah, we did. My younger self was a bit hesitant but agreed to the arrangements."

"What matters is that both Williams are safe. Well, relatively safe. Now we can get back to Star City and focus on getting Oliver out of wherever he is."

"Right." Getting a bit more curious, he points to the bag. "What's in that?"

"Something I've been waiting to get for months. Something that may give us an edge on Diaz in his mirakuru state."

Rene nods his head in approval. "Good to hear. We good to go?"

"In a minute. I want to talk to Mr. Allen for a minute."

Rene and Felicity step out, with Felicity quickly hugging and thanking Barry.

When they are gone, William asks, "How's Billy?"

"Still recovering, but we managed to get him back to his younger self. Turns out a shock of something equivalent to the energy of a lightning bolt turns him back to a young boy, or that's at least what a foster sibling of his told us. Did you know-"

"Yes. Yes, I knew he was a young boy. What will happen to him?"

"He'll go back with his foster family when he's fully recovered. But we'll also be keeping an eye on him, training him from time to time. He's really eager to be a superhero, but he has a long way to go."

"Good. I also wanted to say thanks. For coming to our aid."

"Well, you should thank Nora. She was the one who responded to your message."

William smiles. "Already did."

"Great. But still, I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner. We were a bit tied up."

William holds up a hand. "No, no. It's okay. So, knowing everything, I suppose you'd want Devoe's chair back?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Sure, sure." William then takes out a paper and pen from his pocket that he has been saving for this moment, knowing that he would be in the Flash's presence. "But first I need you to sign this."

"Okay." Barry takes the pen and paper, a bit confused when he sees the blank paper. "But what is this?"

"Your autograph."

Barry begins to laugh almost immediately after hearing that. William can't help but give a smile that he tries to play off as sarcastic.

"Come on. I'm in the presence of my favorite superhero."

"Didn't I sign an autograph with your past self just a little while ago?"

"Yeah, but…that was past me."

Still chuckling a bit, he humors William and gets to signing. As he does, William's phone chimes, indicating a text sent to him. He takes it out and sees a message from Dinah Drake, whom he entrusted with his number in case she found something. Her message read, _"Found something. Meet me in your lair as soon as possible. Bring whole team."_

William smirks, glad that a possible lead is found. He puts the phone away and takes the pen and now signed paper.

"Thanks."

He rushes out to find the others to tell them of their new potential lead.

* * *

" _Okay. I've arranged everything with him. Younger me just wants to say goodbye."_

 _Young William walked to Felicity, who kneeled to his level._

" _I know that this must feel like sending you to Cambridge again, but-"_

" _It doesn't. This is what I want. What 'I' wanted." He looks to Future William, who gave a small smirk._

 _Felicity puts her hands on the sides of William's head. "Well, just know that when we stop Diaz, the first thing we are going to do is arrange for you to visit us. We'll have you over every month and we'll be like a family again. Okay?"_

" _Okay."_

 _Felicity and Young William hug. Felicity looked like she was going to cry while William kept darting to his future self, looking as if he was uncertain about something._

 _When they broke off the hug, Future William gave Felicity a pat on the shoulder. "I'll be with you in a minute."_

 _Felicity nodded and left for the front door. Future William kneeled to face his younger self._

" _I know what Diaz told you-"_

" _Is it true? Did mom just give birth to me so she could get out of some cult? Was that all I was to her? Just some pass?"_

" _No." Future William put his hands on his younger self's shoulders. "She loved us. She loved us…and Dad. She took us with her, even when she knew that meant her life would be forfeit. She did it because her love for us was stronger than her devotion to some cult."_

" _And what about them? I heard what Felicity said about that Deacon guy, about how he thinks he's killing people in God's name."_

" _His interpretation of God's will is a perverted one. One that strays from it more than it reinforces. Let me tell you from experience…" Future William took his hands from his younger self's shoulders and took out the Bible from his suit pocket. "This brought hope to me in the darkest of times and led me to answers to the most difficult choices. That's why I keep it close to my heart. It's foundations are a part of my own. Don't give up on it because someone misunderstands it or gives up on it themselves."_

 _He places the book back into his pocket and placed a hand on his younger self's shoulder. "But remember this. To be a superhero, to work as someone who reinforces the law, even Gods law…sometimes, you have to work around it, but never doing it in a way that you stray from it. And, even if you do, you can always find your way back. Okay?"_

 _Younger William seemed hesitant but nodded after a little while. "Okay."_

" _Good."_

" _Master William." Both Williams looked to the old man, who is at the top of the stairs. "Your room is ready. It is best that you get aquatinted with your new accommodations."_

 _Future William gave younger him a pat on the shoulder. "Go on ahead."_

 _Younger William nods and runs off. Future him stands up and got ready to walk to the door, but not before being called to._

" _Oh, and the suit you requested has been made. It's waiting for you in a duffle bag by the entrance."_

" _Well, tell him I said thanks for making it. And give him my regards."_

" _Certainly."_

 _Future William started to head for the door, now becoming more relaxed knowing that his future was secure._

* * *

Diaz makes another hole in the wall, and another, and another. He stops when he has filled the whole room with craters, breathing heavily through his teeth. Dante and the Deacon should be acting scared, but they have seen variations of Diaz's rage many times that this doesn't even make them flinch.

Though, Dante is concerned about Diaz destroying the entire room, even though it is only the training area. "You do know those walls aren't cheap?"

Diaz turns around and stomps towards Dante. "Does it look like I care?!"

Dante puts his hands in his back pockets with the hidden titanium knives, which are the only ones good enough to penetrate Diaz's mirakuru skin, anticipating an attack from him. Instead, Diaz just briefly growls and then walks away.

Before Diaz can leave, Dante asks, "Where do you think you're going?"

Diaz turns to them. "What does it look like? The plan failed! Our recruits are gone, William probably took his younger self someplace we can't get to, and now we find out he has the whole team backing him up! I'm going to destroy Star City, with or without your help."

"That was not part of the plan."

"To Hell with your plan! My only goal now is to see Oliver Queen suffer, and I'll start with his city, then his family and friends. Then, when he's begging for me to kill him, I'll happily oblige."

Diaz starts to quickly walk away, but Dante does not want his whole plan undermined by one man's ambition.

He tries calling out, "Ricardo…Richard!"

Diaz stops at the sound of his real name, the name that he made both Dante and the Deacon, the only ones who know, never say again. He left that name behind when joining them, and he does not want that name to be like a lingering ghost that reminds him of his dreaded past. But, in this case, Dante is not afraid to use it.

"If you go out now, we will not help you. All our resources will not be at your disposal."

Diaz looks back once more. "Well, I still have the Longbow Hunters, who've been paid in advance. So, 'reliable resources' BE DAMNED! And if you get in my way, I'll kill you too!"

Diaz walks out the door quickly before another word can be said. Dante looks to the Deacon, who has not said a word during the conversation.

"Are we really allowing him to do this?"

The Deacon looks to Dante. "As the great Dragon in his pursuit for the mother's child lost the war against Heaven, so will Ricardo in his lust for revenge. These signs only hasten the apocalypse we shall bring to Star City. Let him do as he likes. He has made his position clear. So have we."

The words coming out of the Deacon's mouth start to worry Dante, knowing that the Deacon, as he did several times before, is determined to burn down another city, while he wants, for once, to take control of one.

Despite this, he keeps his cool. "Of course."

"Call Dr. Parker and tell him to double security. If William is ahead of us, there is a good chance he knows about our little operation."

"Yes sir."

As he takes a step, the Deacon grabs his shoulder.

"Just a question. You and I have the same goal, don't we?"

Dante turns his head to him, his facial expressions not betraying his true intentions. "You have raised me, trained me. I am an extension of you. Your will and God's will is also mine."

There is a bit of a pause, Dante hiding his worries as best as he can.

Then, Deacon raised his hand off his shoulder. "And so it is. Do as I ask."

"Yes sir." Dante then walks out of the room.

When he left, the Deacon bowed his head down and sighed in disappointment. _You pathetic, predictable liar._

* * *

Hello Readers! So, there will be those who have watched season 7 that are going to point out that I have only told half of what is supposed to be episode 5. Well, I ended the chapter like this because adding the newer stuff that was never in the episode felt like writing a whole episode, so trying to write it as the entire 5th episode would have been like trying to fit in two episodes in one. So, for those who have noticed this, just know that this was just the decision I felt had to be made.

So anyways, thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite this story if you like it so far, leave a review, follow the story so you don't miss a new episode, and feel free to share this story with anyone you think will enjoy it.

Also, before I go, I do want to let you know that I have seen questions on reviews about whether I will be covering the Elseworlds Crossover. I am not announcing how I will be writing it just yet, but just know that it will be something I will get to in the future. So, once again, thanks for reading and have a great day.


	7. Episode 6: The Depths of Hell

**Disclaimer:** Based on references and characters from the CW and DC Universe, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _With my past self saved and the members of Team Arrow working together again,_

 _I work with them to save my father, Oliver Queen, from his predicament_

 _And to do so, I must become someone else_

 _Become something else_

 _I am the new Green Arrow._

* * *

Episode 6: The Depths of Hell

"Dr. Jarret Parker." William brings up his face on the time camera as Dinah speaks. "There isn't much on him, no doubt because Dante had the power to erase everything of him from the database. But, from some leftover files I found in the precinct, I found 8 cases of his that got him blacklisted. They were recollections of his patients suggesting that Dr. Parker was involved in a number of illegal experiments under the supervision of a Dr. Hugo Strange."

"And that's when it clicked." William swipes the picture of Dr. Parker and brings up a newspaper article from the 2030's, the headline reading _"Apprentice of Strange leaves another victim in shambles."_

"In my time, the Apprentice of Strange was someone who would capture criminals and break them, always leaving a message saying 'The man couldn't be cured' for those who didn't survive. I looked further into Dr. Strange and those who worked for him and Dr. Parker's name was one of them. Unfortunately, I had little evidence to prove it and he always slipped away. Though, the surviving patient always exhibited the same effects as those eight, a few of them being blackouts, lapses in memory and, eventually, losing all trace of her former self. No doubt Dr. Parker is continuing that goal."

Curtis motions for them to stop. "Wait. Wait a minute. Are you saying this guy is torturing criminals and the whole prison knows this? So that means—"

Felicity finishes for him. "It means Oliver is in real danger and we need to break him out right now."

"That won't be possible." William scours the computer for the recent time camera recording from the picture Oliver carries around. "I set the time camera to my phone as well as my computer in case I need to…" He hesitates to say survey or watch them, knowing that they would take it the wrong way. Dinah is already giving him a stare. "Ensure your safety. During our mission to save my younger self and the students, I was watching out for Dad and saw this."

He brings up the last portion of the video, where Oliver is shaking hands with her new associate. Everyone stares at it with either surprise or confusion. John summarizes both reactions by asking, "Is that…Talia Al Gual?"

"Yes, it is. She's giving Dad a way out of Level 2, but he's not taking it until he finds evidence to bring down Dr. Parker and his operation."

Felicity nods her head. "Sounds like something Oliver would do. So, what's our plan?"

"First, we need to know how to get into Level 2, otherwise rescuing my Dad is not going to go well. I'll go through the blueprints, see if there's anything I can dig up. But there's no telling what may be in there, so I'll need you guys for backup."

"Well, I can't do anything until I have a warrant and even with the evidence, I can't do this discreetly with a judge."

Felicity chimes in, "I may have a friend who may help you with that Dinah."

"Well, Curtis and I have to file a report with ARGUS HQ on the student rescue, but we'll find a way to help you guys out."

William clicks out of the windows and turns to the team. "Good, then it's settled. Get some rest if you need it and be prepared. Tomorrow…we break Dad out of Level 2."

* * *

She chews the food slowly, trying to find some taste in it, some bit of flavor. As usual, there was nothing special. By now, it is just bland food disguised as something average.

 _I'll be glad to be out of this he—_

"Excuse me?"

She looks up, seeing the one person that brightens her spirits, but also dreads to be communicating with. She doesn't want to talk to Oliver for if she does, he may recognize her, even though he has never met her. At least, not yet.

"Mind if I sit down?"

She doesn't want to talk with him for a prolong period, but she didn't want him to leave either. For the first time in this prison, she finds someone else that she feels comfortable around, even if he doesn't know it.

Begrudgingly, she extends her hand to the opposite bench, allowing Oliver to sit at the opposite end of the small, round table.

She continues to eat her food, hoping that not making eye contact for too long won't tip him off. He doesn't eat though, telling her that he didn't like the food as much as she did.

"I never got to thank you for the warning."

"I did what I was told to do. That's all."

"Still, I'm grateful."

She looks up for a moment, seeing that he still hasn't eaten his food. She starts to suspect that he is not here to casually eat and talk.

"Why are you here?"

"Our mutual friend tells me you were in that room." He subtly points his thumb in the direction of the torture room. "Was there anything in there that can serve as evidence of Level 2's existence?"

"You want to shut it down?" Oliver nods, which makes her smirk. "I'd expect nothing less from the former Green Arrow."

"Is there anything or not?"

"There is. Parker keeps record of every 'therapy session' on a computer in that room and usually has a thumb drive with him to take copies of them home. All your evidence is in there. But he will restrain you on a table and he keeps a couple guards in there at all times."

"Restraints can be lock picked and the guards will be easy to take down. What about our wristbands?"

"There is a key the guards have but doing so without inputting a code will alert the guards upstairs, so we'll be overwhelmed."

"They have numbers. We have skills and a plan. Talia and I can create a distraction so you can secure our exit."

"And she told you where that is?"

"She did. Listen, during free hour, be ready to get out the door. We'll keep the guards occupied. Okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

"Five minutes for lunch inmates! Eat or get back to your cell!"

Feeling satisfied, she gets up from the table. "I'm gonna go. I'll be ready."

As she just walks past Oliver, He asks, "Wait. Just one thing." As she turns to him, she starts to feel stressed inside. _Don't say you recognize me. Please don't say you recognize me._

"If I don't get out and you two do, go to Star City and give my friends the information. Level 2 cannot continue to go on."

She starts to relax a bit but does not like the prospect he is giving here. Still, she nods.

"I will."

She then turns around quickly and heads back to her cell. Even though she is in the clear, she doesn't want to believe that only two of them are getting out.

 _You will get out of here Dad. You will._

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to give her a warrant to search for a place in Slabside Penitentiary with almost no evidence that it exists?"

Felicity nods. "If it's not too much trouble."

Dinah, who is still befuddled of how Felicity became friends with Earth-2 Laurel, adds, "It's the only way we can save Oliver. I know we still aren't—"

Laurel raises a hand for them to stop. "Yeah, yeah. Look. I can't pull the strings whenever I like. No evidence of Level 2's existence means I can't give you a warrant to search the place."

Felicity then starts to look a bit frustrated. "That's just it Laurel. We don't have any—"

Laurel raises her hand once more. "But…" She opens the file Dinah and Felicity gave to her. "This evidence is good enough to at least give cause to make sure Slabside is still running things ethically. This will give you the warrant you need."

Dinah smirks. "That's my ticket in."

Laurel starts signing the warrant. After being given the warrant, Dinah nods in appreciation. "Thank you Laurel."

"You can thank me by letting me get back to work. I've got a whole mess of paperwork I need to get done by today."

Dinah and Felicity exit the office. As they head towards the elevators, Dinah can't help but ask the new question that is burning in her mind.

"How exactly did you become friends with Earth-2 Laurel?"

"Mutual acquaintance and it's a long story that I'd rather not bore you with."

* * *

 _So, this is my only way in and their only way out. But who's the blonde woman that they keep referring to?_

Rewinding back the time footage to yesterday morning, he tries to find any blonde woman in the vicinity of the camera. William aims it at an angle so that he can see outside the cell door, but he cannot see past the cell block. He rewinds the footage a little more until he can see…

 _Wait a minute._

He sees a blonde woman tossing a note to Oliver's cell, but this one is very familiar. He zooms in and increases the resolution, trying to see if this is who he thinks it is. Looking at her face close up, he now can't believe what he is seeing. His emotions become a swirl of gladness and worry, his jaw dropping lower by the second.

 _Sis._

"William!"

Felicity's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He quickly clicks out of the window, believing that Felicity and everyone else does not need to know about her right now. Regaining his composure, he sees Felicity and Dinah coming down the stairs.

"Hey. Any luck with Laurel?"

"Sure did. We found a way to get me in. What about you?"

He brings up the screen shots he found of Slabside prison, a couple from the early 1900's to the present. "I couldn't find many blueprints, but I found some photos of the old prison. Back then, it was a smaller prison that got built on top of until the late '80's. One thing that hasn't changed is the morgue." He brings up a blueprint of the modern prison, which includes the morgue. "There's a passage that connects from the outside and into the morgue. That's both my infiltration and exfiltration point."

Felicity nods. "Good. Any word from John?"

"Yes. He says that ARGUS has recently gotten into contact with someone who's supposed to be inspecting the prison. She needs an escort and John volunteered at the first instance."

"Good. I'm going to head back to the Precinct and get myself prepped."

William nods. "Sounds good."

Dinah then proceeds to the exit. As she does, William watches her to make sure she doesn't plant a scrambling device or a tracker that would lead the police to them. When she finally leaves, showing no sign of planting anything, William relaxes himself.

He then looks to Felicity, who looks at him with a concerned stare.

"What?"

"Your father does that same look. I can already tell that you don't trust her. At least, not fully."

William places his hands on his hips. "Look. I know she's your friend and you trust her, and I want to as well. But she has demonstrated blind adherence to the law when such devotion is what caused the negligence of Star City's well-being. Even if she helped us once, what are the odds-"

"I trust her, William, not just because she's my friend. I trust her because she has had my back as well as your father's more than once."

"Yet, Team Arrow dispersed, and Captain Drake fell into a trap that costed the Vigilante's life and almost went on a revenge spree."

She is, for a moment, lost for words, as if in disbelief. "She lost the love of her life."

"And I understand that. But if there's one thing my mentor taught me, it's to be cautious, especially around those who put their emotions first over the mission. And I don't have to remind you that it wasn't the first revenge spree she went on."

Felicity's tone changes to something more defensive. "She's changed, William. I assure you that."

William gives a subtle sigh. "I hope you're right. Now, if we're done, you should link up with John and Curtis. They'll need your help with reconnaissance."

"Okay."

Felicity walks away without another word spoken. William doesn't know if it's because Felicity finds wisdom in what he says or didn't want to escalate things further.

Either way, William checks over the blueprints and photos one more time, making sure that he accounted for everything before his plans are set.

* * *

 _As they reached the bottom of the stairs, John peeked around the corner, checking the room for any hostiles. When it seemed to be clear, he put away his pistol._

 _He turned to Roy and William. "We're clear."_

 _They walked out of the stairway and into the middle of the lobby. John turned to them again, seeing the confusion on their faces._

" _I suppose you both have questions about what happened to Star City?"_

" _Among other questions, Mr. Diggle."_

 _John sighed, the memory of Star City's downfall being too much to bear, even after 22 years. "Diaz launched an offensive on Star City while it was still recovering. First, it started in the Glades, then spread out to all of Star City. We managed to quell it, but it costed the lives of thousands. Including—" John found it hard to say their names, struggling to get them out. "Including members of the team. Curtis, Dinah."_

 _Roy stretched his hand out to the surrounding area. "Well, it still looks like a mess. How come?"_

" _Rene. After the whole event, he wanted to ensure what happened to the Glades never happened again. At first, it was good. He gave refuge to those who were homeless, gave them jobs, accepted donations, and even had his own police force patrol the streets. But things got out of hand. He declared separation from Star City and turned the Glades into a fortress. As it grew in power, the rest of Star City deteriorated. Those who stay in Star City are those who have it worse."_

 _Roy turned to William. "We definitely should've stayed on Lian Yu."_

 _Remembering what he and Roy found in Felicity's office, he unhooked the bag from his side and showed it off to them._

" _We still found this."_

 _He opened the bag and reached inside, taking out something that even William didn't expect. In his hand was a rubix cube._

* * *

When free time started, she sat herself close to the door leading out of the cell block. Oliver sat a few tables away, waiting for the right moment. After a few minutes of waiting, one of the doctors that checks the prisoners' wristbands started to come their way.

As soon as he passes Oliver, he gets up and grabs the doctor's shock trigger. The doctor turns around and tries to get it back, but Oliver grabs the arm, following it up with a hammer fist to the face and throwing him over the table he was sitting at.

He turns around to see another doctor nearing Oliver and holding out a shock trigger of his own. Before he can activate it, he gets knocked out by Talia hitting him over the head with a tray.

"About time."

Talia walks a bit towards Oliver, one of her hands behind her back. "You know, the mark of a great student…is when he surpasses her."

As they near each other, Talia swings a knife at Oliver's arm, luckily not making a deep cut. Oliver grabs his shoulder and moves away from her, wincing in pain.

He looks to her, probably acting confused as he should be doing. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should've done long ago."

 _Okay, they're fighting as planned. Now to get out of here before security arrives._

She gets up quickly and opens the door, taking care not to make a sound as she does. As she slips through, she sees the guards come in and shock both Oliver and Talia. They both convulse before falling to the ground.

Before she closes the door, she hears a guard say, "Take them to the room."

 _They never suspected a thing. Now to the morgue._

She rushes to the morgue so she can prepare their escape. As she enters, she hears strange noises coming down the upper part of the furnace where they dump the bodies to incinerate evidence.

 _Someone's coming._

She hugs the wall and creeps to the corner, hoping that she can get the jump on whoever is coming. She hears the noises coming closer and closer until she hears something hit the floor. Immediately, she rushes out and charges in.

* * *

"We're here."

The portable base stops as it gets a view of Slabside. Felicity gets up from the computer and walks to the front where Curtis is. She gets a good look at the prison, seeing what anyone would expect from a maximum-security prison: a tall, complex structure with concrete walls that give it more of a fortress vibe than one of a usual prison.

Felicity can't see much else but a few guards in the distance. "This place looks so secure and uptight. I can't believe they would hire someone that was known to be unstable to reform criminals."

"Well, we don't know how much influence Dante has on this place. For all we know, he probably owns the place."

"I hope not. We should set up."

"Right."

Felicity heads back to the computer. Curtis gets up from the driver's seat and follows her there. He sits in the chair in front of the computer and gets communications up and running while Felicity turns on the laptop lent to her by William and gets the detective vision up and running.

As the comms turn on, Curtis puts on a mic and earpiece. He then lends one to Felicity.

"This is Curtis. Anyone read me?"

* * *

William jumps through the breach as he hears Curtis' voice, finding himself at the drainage pipe leading into the morgue. As he walks to it, he taps the comm on his ear. "This is Green Arrow. I have reached the infiltration point."

* * *

Dinah and John step out into the parking lot, not seeing a whole lot of cars besides theirs. Hearing Curtis' voice followed by William's, he gets on the comm. "This is Diggle. Dinah and I just entered the prison's visitor parking."

" **Any sign of the inspection guy?"**

Dinah answers, "Not yet, but hopefully whoever it is won't cause much trouble in saving Oliver."

"As appealing as that sounds…" John and Dinah turn around quickly to where the voice is coming from. Behind them is a person they thought they would never see again. "…I won't."

Dinah looks at her the same way as John: A surprised stare and a feeling of bad luck bumping into Samantha Watson, the ex-FBI agent, here of all places.

"Watson? You're the inspector?"

While Dinah is still confused, John remembers what job Watson got after the whole fiasco with Diaz and failing to stop him. "You were sent by the Time Bureau."

"I was." She shows her visitors pass, which shows her as an FBI Agent. "And you'd be surprised by what kind of strings they can pull."

"So, if this concerns time, then you're here for the same reason as us."

"Correct. Oliver Queen was not meant to get into Level 2, and certainly not be affected by glutathione hydrate."

Dinah raises her hands out to stop Watson, the last part of her sentence throwing her off a bit. "Wait, hold on. You mean mirakuru?"

"Whatever you like to call it, Dr. Parker has it and has been using it on his 'patients.' It was supposed to be deemed a failed experiment before Oliver arrived and escaped. But things have accelerated due to the interference of the time fugitive you have." Before John has the chance to ask if she is referring to who he thinks she is, she answers quickly, "And yes, I am referring to your new resident vigilante, who happens to be Oliver's son."

John then gives Watson a glare and points to her. "If you're thinking about turning him in-"

"I'm not. He already made a deal with director Sharpe, so I can't touch him. Now, if your questions are answered, we don't have much time."

" **Hey, uh, Felicity here. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I'm looking through William's time camera. It looks like Oliver and Talia are already executing their plan."**

John and Dinah look at each other, seeing if they agree letting Watson tag along is the best plan. They both subtly nod, for though they do have a troubled past with Watson, she is needed to access the prison. Plus, she is no longer and FBI agent gunning for vigilantes.

John looks back to Watson. "Lead the way."

Watson walks to the stairs that lead up to the prison's visitor center where the Warden is supposed to be. As Dinah and Diggle follow, Dinah can't help but wonder something.

"Did you actually have a plan for getting down there yourself?"

"Not for me. I just need to keep the Warden busy until my plus one frees Oliver."

"Well, where is your plus one?"

"If he stuck to the plan, he should already be inside. If you want this plan to go well, you should stick with it as well."

"We have evidence of their old prison—"

"Which they'll say is abandoned and deny anything contradictory. Trust me on that and get ready. We're close to meeting the Warden."

They reached the top of the stairs as their conversation ends. Watson opens the door for them, and they head inside. Both John and Dinah are still skeptical of her, but feel that they have to trust her, nonetheless.

* * *

After removing the loose grate, William crouches down and enters inside. He turns on the night vision in his eye mask, not seeing much except concrete surrounding him and a pipe leading down to the morgue. In the middle of that pipe is a rope, most likely used to lower down bodies into the furnace below.

He then switches on his detective vision but cannot see anything but a jamming signal beyond his location. _They must've known I would come. I wonder though…_

He quickly switches to his comm. "Overwatch, do you read? Felicity, can you hear me? Curtis?"

He hears nothing but some static in his earpiece. _Dang it. Guess I'm going radio silent. I need to hurry._

He reaches the rope and grabs hold. He looks down to a hole down below, which is most likely where the morgue is. He begins his descent, pushing off the wall to jump greater distances. His last jump sends him through the hole, and he lands perfectly on his feet into the morgue.

As he begins to stand, he sees someone turn from the corner of the room and charge right at him. Acting quickly, he grabs the person and pins her to the wall.

 _Wait a minute. This is…_

She continues to struggle, but William tries to calm her. "Mia! Mia stop! It's me!" He takes one hand away and pulls down his face mask quickly. "It's me!"

As Mia looks up, she stops her struggling, seeing the face of her brother. "Will?"

Mia immediately hugs William, squeezing him tight. As excruciating as it feels to William, he just hugs back, knowing that Mia must've been here for weeks. Probably months.

He can hear her give a sigh of relief, but still feeling restless. "Oh, thank god it's you."

"It's all right sis. It's all right. Now, will you please let go? It's kind of hard to breathe."

Mia immediately lets go and leans against the wall. "Sorry. It's just I've been here for a whole month and I'm still feeling a bit paranoid and then there's Dad being here—" Her eyes then grow wide in horror. "Oh god, that's right. Dad's here."

William puts his hands on Mia's arms to calm her. "I know, okay. I know. I'm here to rescue him."

She shrugs him off, pointing to the other side of the room. "Then you'll find him and Level 2 that way. Look for the blue door inside. I'll stay and—"

"No. You need to go."

"But I need to cover our escape."

"Let me handle that." William quickly takes out his breach beacon and switches it on, activating one that leads to the abandoned church. "This will take you to my hideout. Wait there and I'll meet you when I save Dad. Okay?"

She looks hesitant, looking at the breach and back at William. Eventually, she nods her head. "Okay. Just promise me you'll get Dad out in one piece."

"That's the plan sis." He then pats her on the shoulder. "Now go!"

William watches her go through the portal, assuring him that she is safe. As it fades, William shoots a few trap arrows around the room as a precaution before moving on towards Level 2 to save Oliver.

* * *

Oliver wakes with a start. He finds that he can't move his arms and legs. He looks up to see them restrained as he was in his shock therapy. This time, though, he is positioned facing the whole room instead of the ceiling. He looks to his right to see Talia in the same predicament, along with two guards not far from him.

In front of him, he sees a tray table with surgical instruments to his left. Ahead is a desk with a computer, most likely Dr. Parker's.

 _Just what we came for._

Immediately, he tries to find the pin that he hid in his sleeve which can be pulled up with a nearly invisible string. Strangely enough, he can't feel the string as he tries to pull it, nor can he feel the pin.

 _Where's—_

"Looking for this?"

Oliver's attention turns to one of the guards, who is holding the pin by the string. "The boss said you would try to pull a stunt like this. No escape for you now."

Oliver hears the door behind them open. Coming into view is Dr. Parker, who looks at him with a glare.

"You disappoint me 4587. I thought we were making progress." He turns and walks to the tray table, his hand hovering over the various instruments until he picks up a syringe. "But it seems that you are more strong-willed than I imagined."

"You're insane."

Dr. Parker slams his empty fist on the empty part of the table, his breathing becoming a bit heavy afterwards. "I'm insane?" He turns to Oliver, his breathing becoming slightly less heavy. "I've worked on people who exceed the definition of insane. A man who killed women and kept score by carving tally marks on his skin. A man who believed his own puppet controlled his own criminal activities. A man who dressed like a clown and killed people just because he could!"

He stops talking for a moment, taking some time to regain his composure. When his breathing became normal, he looks at Oliver again. "Do you know what those cases taught me? What my mentor taught me? That rehabilitation doesn't work. You want criminals to stop doing crimes, you must erase them. Break them until they can't even remember their own name. Then, you mold them into the model citizens that they should be, or something better. Something useful. The Ninth Circle saw this too. They saw my talent and my realization. They gave me all of this so that I can make these criminals into model citizens."

"What about those who died? Those you've killed?"

"They were collateral damage. People who didn't respond to the treatment. You've killed criminals like them early in your career. Surely, you would agree that this has to be done."

"They're still people, not test subjects that you can just dispose of at your leisure."

Dr. Parker raises an eyebrow. "That sounds like something the old you would've said. Though, I guess we never got rid of that part, didn't we? You are strong willed; I'll give you that. But you refuse to want to break the cycle of violence."

"If there's any cycle of violence to break, it's the attacks on my friends and family. ON MY CITY. And I'm going to do it MY WAY."

"You will never get that chance."

He holds up the syringe and flicks the tip a couple of times, then squirts out a bit of it to make sure the syringe is working properly. Dr. Parker then smirks.

"Do you know what this is? Glutathione hydrate. An experimental drug that's supposed to cure many known diseases mainly because of one special ingredient. Mirakuru."

Oliver is shocked but tries his best not to show it. He does not want to give Dr. Parker the satisfaction.

"I know you have a lot of familiarity with the ingredient. It took several experiments to amplify the affects, given that it has been rendered docile in the original compound. With this and the affects that it has on the mind, I hope to break down criminals faster, make them more susceptible to suggestion. Many times, I have failed." He turns and stares at Oliver. "But maybe you, with your strong mind and body, can be the key to perfecting the process."

Dr. Parker walks a bit closer until the syringe is close to Oliver's neck. "I truly am sorry. I didn't want it to come to this 4587. But you leave me no choice."

As the syringe gets closer, Oliver starts to panic a bit, his breathing becoming a bit fast. He knows what Mirakuru has done to the people he knows and loves. Roy, Slade, and others lost their minds. He doesn't want to become that but feels that he doesn't have a choice now.

When he prepares to brace for the inevitable, the needle suddenly breaks off without warning. Dr. Parker jumps back, frantically looking for where that came from. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a familiar face wearing familiar armor appears behind Dr. Parker. It is the face of Ray Palmer, aka the Atom.

"What's up Doc?"

As Dr. Parker turns around, Ray grabs him and throws him to the ground. He is not unconscious, but he is struggling to get up. The guards try to react, but Ray shoots them with non-lethal energy blasts from his gloves before they do anything. The blasts send them flying, hitting the wall and then falling to the ground, putting them out of commission.

Oliver smiles, glad to see a familiar face saving him. "Ray."

Ray turns to Oliver with a smile of his own and a little wave. "Hey Oliver. Long time no see." He shoots energy blasts at the restraints on Oliver's wrists and ankles. Now freed, Oliver steps off from the table.

"What's it been Oliver? Like, nearly 6 months? Kinda hard to tell because, you know, time travel."

Before Oliver can answer, he hears Dr. Parker moaning as he gets to his knees, still in pain from the takedown. Before Ray can shoot him with a blast, Oliver walks to him and puts his arm between them.

"Free her. Let me handle him."

Ray nods and goes over to Talia. As Dr. Parker manages to get up to his feet and tries to grab one of his surgical tools, Oliver grabs his wrist and neck. He twists Dr. Parker's wrist until he is forced to let it go.

When Oliver sees that he has Dr. Parker in a state of helplessness, he says the one thing he's been wanting to tell him for so long, something that summarized how he truly feels about his whole experience down here. The constant torture, trying to break and erase him, all summarized in one sentence.

"My name…IS OLIVER QUEEN!"

Oliver then frees Dr. Parker from his grip and hook punches him in the face, rendering Dr. Parker unconscious. Somehow, after what felt like days down here, it felt good to finally punch Dr. Parker in the face, now knowing that he is a Dr. with blood on his hands.

He turns to Ray and a now free Talia, who is rubbing her wrists from being restrained.

"Are you alright Talia?"

Talia nods. "Besides in anger from almost being tortured, yes I am."

"Ray, are the other Legends with you?"

"No. They're a bit busy finding time displaced demons." Both Oliver and Talia look at Ray with confused looks. "It's a long story. Right now, we need to get out of here."

Oliver then turns to the computer on the desk, remembering why they came here in the first place. "Not yet."

He walks over to the computer and turns it on. Luckily, it's automatically logged on with Dr. Parker's account, so he immediately begins his search.

While he does, he overhears Ray and Talia talking to each other.

"What's he looking for?"

"Anything that can expose this place, Mr. Palmer."

"Wow, you actually remember me?"

"I never forgot the time travelers that broke into Nanda Parbat and took away one of our best warriors."

"Actually, we were taking her back from you guys. But, if it's any consolation…I am sorry for what happened to your father."

"Even though you had a hand in his downfall?"

"If it were me, I would've found another way. At least then…you would still have a father."

"Well…your sentiment is appreciated."

As curious as Oliver is about what time traveling shenanigans the Legends were up to that had them meeting Ra's Al Gual, his focus is on the information he has just stumbled across. It contained the names of prisoners experimented on, connections with Diaz and the Ninth Circle, and more.

"Found it! Everything to implicate Dr. Parker is on here."

As Ray and Talia walk to Oliver, he tries to find a USB drive that they can use. He searches the tabletop and then the drawers to no avail.

"Damn it. Dr. Parker must've known that we would do something like this. Ray, can you transfer this to your suit somehow?"

Ray walks next to Oliver and looks at the computer. "My suit wasn't made for data transfer. I don't know how else—"

Suddenly, they hear noises coming from outside that range from guards shouting orders, things being slammed on the wall, and screams of pain. Ray steps out in front of the desk and aims his hand at the door.

"Both of you stay back."

Oliver and Talia ready themselves as the noises draw closer to the door. Suddenly, another sound of a body slamming is heard on the door. It slowly opens, revealing a guard who slumps to the floor, still breathing but not conscious. Following him is a familiar hooded figure covered in shadows who aims an arrow in their direction. Oliver immediately knew who that was, even with the shadows covering most of his body. Ray prepares to use his energy blast, but Oliver quickly forces his arm down.

"Wait Ray! Stop!" He then stretches his arm out to William. "William, it's us!"

William is hesitant for a second, but then lowers his bow and steps out into the light, the green of his suit confirming his identity. He then switches something that takes out the white lenses in his eye mask and lowers his face mask, revealing a smile, probably one of relief.

Oliver goes to William and hugs him, glad that he can finally do this in the flesh and not in some dream of Dr. Parker's concoction. William immediately pulls back and looks at Oliver, from top to bottom.

"You look worse for wear."

Oliver can't help but smirk at the remark. "It's been a long month."

"For all of us."

"Excuse me." Oliver turns to Talia, who gives an impatient stare. "As touching of a moment as this is, we must escape this place."

Oliver walks to the computer, William following behind. "We still need this information."

"Say no more."

William reaches into his pocket and takes out what looks like a mechanical bug like in those science fiction movies. The bug sticks out what looks like a USB connector from one end. William inserts it and starts to copy the information.

Ray looks at the bug with a smirk. "A bug with a USB function. Impressive."

"One of my first inventions that I kept for myself, Mr. Palmer."

Ray starts to look a bit surprised. "You know who I am?"

"Of course. The Legends of Tomorrow are famous to many in my time. To some like criminals, you're infamous."

"I can see that. But wait, did you say, 'Legends of Tomorrow?'"

"Yes, I—" William looks at Ray with a wide-eyed stare. "Oh. That's right. You don't go by that name."

Suddenly, they hear a beep coming from the bug that William placed in. He turns back to it and takes it out.

"Data transfer is complete. Now, let's get out of here."

As they prepare to head out, Talia stops them. "What about him?" She glares at Dr. Parker, still lying unconscious on the floor. "We must ensure that he will never do something like this again."

Oliver puts a hand on her shoulder. "We will, but we need to do it the right way."

Talia shrugs him off. "Well, we can't just carry him around."

"We won't have to." The three of them turn to Ray, curious by what he means. "My suit has a blaster in it that can shrink others and a capsule with holes so they can stay alive and in captivity. Trust me, it works."

Oliver nods. "Okay. Make it happen."

"But first…" Talia walks to one of the guards and takes the key to the wristband from his belt. Oliver, knowing what she is intending to do, starts to become a bit cautious.

"Talia, taking these off our wrists will set the alarms off."

"We won't get far with these on us. It's worth the risk."

Still a bit skeptical of the plan, he turns to Ray and William. "Are you two alright with this?"

Ray gives a thumbs up. "Bring them on."

"Oh, wait, wait, wait!" William suddenly rushes to the left side of the room and takes out what looks like an arrow with electric conductors. "First, I need to send a warning."

He presses a button and sparks of electricity flicker off the conductors. He then jabs the arrow onto the wall, sending electrical currents into it. They can hear something shorting out, but they couldn't tell what it is. Following this, William puts a finger to his ear.

* * *

"As you can see Ms. Watson, our facility is one of the most secure."

They have only been to the cell block and mess hall, but it is already apparent that they are keeping up appearances. John remembers when William infiltrated Slabside the first time, the fights that took place here, one of which Oliver participated in. They may show guards checking cells or maintaining order, but the three of them knew what was really happening in this place.

"Now, to put your minds at ease of our ethics, I'll take you down to the medical wing, where our prisoners are treated with the utmost care by the professionals trained under Dr. Parker."

As they head towards the medical wing, John quickly presses the comm on his ear and whispers, "Overwatch, any word from William?"

" **Nothing! I've been trying to contact him for almost three minutes! If he's hurt—"**

"… **This is Green Arrow. Does anyone read me?"** Oddly enough, it is William's normal voice, not covered up by his voice modulator.

" **Oh, thank god. Yes! Yes, we hear you."**

" **Good. John, Dinah. Where are you guys right now?"**

"We just got a quick tour of the cell block and mess hall. We're heading down to the medical wing now."

" **Good, because in about 5 seconds, alarms are going to go off. When they do, I need you two and Watson to come to Level 2 as fast as you can."**

John and Dinah give each other quick, confused glances. Oddly enough, so does Watson. That must mean William met up with whoever her plus one is and let him connect with Watson's comm.

"William, why would there be—"

" **No time John. Talia's become impatient. Just get down here—"**

Suddenly, as William said, alarms start blaring in their part of the facility. Red sirens started to light up, blinking in and out every second.

"— **Now."**

The Warden ahead of them turns around and walks closer to Watson. "I'm sorry everyone. Tour's over. For your safety, I need the three of you to—"

Before he could finish, Watson hooks him hard in the face, rendering him unconscious. John and Dinah look at her with both surprise and concern, seeing her punching out an official for the first time.

She just turns to them, seeing their expressions, not looking surprised by them at all. "Did you see any other way? Come on."

She draws her gun and starts running to the entrance for the detention cells, which also lead to the morgue and Level 2. Shaking off their concerns, Dinah and John follow suit, remembering the layout that William presented to them. They hope that whatever set off the alarms didn't mean they would be too late to save him and Oliver.

* * *

Oliver and Talia's wristbands are unlocked, and Dr. Parker is secured by Ray Palmer. Before they exit the room, William puts his face mask back on and turns on his detective vision to see if there weren't any new developments outside.

Unfortunately, there were. Besides the guards he knocked out and the criminals who are still in their cells, there are now 9 new people outside their door, 8 of them armed with swords while the one in the middle of them is wielding a bow and arrow. What's stranger is that the prisoners are also now unconscious, their heartbeats shown to have quickened only a little while ago.

 _Are these 9 some sort of backup?_

He outstretches his hand to signal the others to stop for a moment. "We have company. 9 in total. Mr. Palmer, think you can shrink down and get an angle on them?"

"Sure can. Oh, first…" He takes out the capsule containing a now miniature Dr. Palmer. He hands it over to Oliver. "…wouldn't want him to shrink further, you know? I might need a distraction though."

"Let us go out first then. Find your spot and wait for the signal."

"Got it Oliver. Going small."

Mr. Palmer then shrinks into his miniature form, his rocket boots keeping him hovering above the ground. When the plan was set, William, Oliver, and Talia rush out of the room, acting as if not having a clue of who is waiting for them. As they stop just outside the door, they can see clearly who they are dealing with. 8 of the people wore hoods like the men who kidnapped William's younger self and the students last night. The woman in the middle, though, is uniquely dressed. She wears a red latex suit with some black paddings on the chest and shoulders. The only common feature she has with the robbed figures is the black pants.

The woman speaks up, "Hello Talia."

Talia doesn't show any emotion, standing her ground. "Emiko."

The woman, now known to be Emiko, smirks as she looks at William and Oliver. "Impressive. Even now, I thought you'd never trust a Queen. Have you forgiven them, or is this desperation?"

Oliver takes a couple of steps forward. "Listen, we don't want things to escalate any further. Step aside."

"You stand down, Queen." The eight people put down their hoods and draw their swords. "Because as you can see, you're outnumbered and outclassed."

Upon now seeing their faces clearly, William recognizes them and becomes shocked. "You eight…you're Dr. Parker's old patients." He now angrily glares at Emiko. "Is this really what the Ninth Circle does? Breaks down people, including children until they are nothing but mindless puppets? No wonder Samantha Clayton left you people."

"They were given a new life, made into warriors for our cause. Now, I won't ask again. Stand down!"

" **Guys. I'm in position. Say when."**

Oliver nods his head, putting his hands up as if he is about to surrender. The others do the same. "Fine. Now!"

From behind the enemy, Mr. Palmer appears and shoots a couple of energy blasts, knocking a couple of the enemies down while catching the rest off guard. Oliver and Talia take this as their opportunity to rush at the hooded figures. William, meanwhile, quickly analyzes their situation.

 _Palmer's role is complete: catch enemy by surprise and turn their attention on him. Enemies near him will see him as a threat and try to kill him. Dad and Talia's roles: take advantage of the enemy's divided attention. Ideal strategy: disarm them of their swords then go in for takedowns. My ideal role: climb onto the table to my right and provide support from there. The woman named Emiko might react to this and take me out with her bow and arrows, so be prepared for retaliation. Side note: make sure Talia doesn't kill anybody._

William quickly climbs up the table and takes aim. As he expected, the robed men near Ray Palmer attack him with their swords, his arm gauntlets able to deflect them, but their speed looks to be overwhelming him, giving him no time to shrink down and escape. William shoots a concussion arrow at one of them and knocks him out, leaving Ray Palmer free to concentrate on the second one. As the robed man swings again, Mr. Palmer swings his wrist at it and manages to break the sword, following it up with an energy blast in the gut and sends him flying. He then shrinks down, most likely heading to Talia and Oliver's position to provide help.

With Mr. Palmer safe for the moment, William turns his attention to Oliver and Talia. Oliver has just thrown one of the men to the ground and disarmed him of his weapon. His attention then turns to Emiko, who attacks him with unbridled ferocity. Oliver dodges and blocks every blow, patiently waiting for an opening.

Talia, meanwhile, is parrying and dodging three others. Her speed is able to keep up with every swing of their swords, but William knows that she can only do this for so long. He shoots one of them with a concussion arrow, knocking him out and throwing the sword down. She ducks under a horizontal swing and grabs the sword just in time to block the swords aiming for her head.

From the corner of his eye, William can see Oliver falling to the floor. He turns and sees Emiko aiming an arrow right at his head. He dodges it as it flies towards him, taking out and aiming an arrow of his own. As he does, she runs right towards him.

 _Getting too close. Reposition._

As Emiko starts to climb up the first seat, William jumps to the table next to them and aims an arrow. As he does, Emiko quickly does the same. They both fire, both arrows barely passing each other, aiming for different parts of the head. Both archers dodge their arrows, Emiko recovering a bit faster than William.

 _Possibility of a successful concussion arrow shot is now somewhat low. Chances of catching Emiko off guard and getting in close are high._

As Emiko reaches in for an arrow, William quickly takes out an arrowhead and throws it at the shaft, cutting the arrow in two. As she takes it out and realizes what has happened, he takes the opportunity to jump from one table to another, employing a flying knee to her stomach. She blocks it, but the force of it pushes her back to the edge of the table, putting her off balance. As William goes to clench her, she lurches back forward and ducks. She then grabs him by the torso and pushes him forward. William quickly plants his feet firmly down and hooks his arms under hers with his hands clenching her back, turning their fight into a struggle for control.

Meanwhile, Oliver gets up to see Talia deflecting the swords of her attackers, who now surround her on both sides. He wants to help William but knows that he can't leave Talia while she is outnumbered. Oliver quickly grabs the robed man in front of him and tries to pin him to the wall. The man, however, manages to jump onto the wall and perform a wall run, putting him behind Oliver.

Oliver turns around and prepares to attack, but sees Ray grab the man from behind and throws him to the floor hard enough to knock him unconscious.

Talia, with only one robed man to worry about now, blocks an overhead strike, twirls the blade, and flicks it away. The hooded man goes in for a punch, but Talia grabs the arm and throws him over her shoulder and to the ground.

She then raises her arm, prepared to deliver the killing blow. Oliver, seeing this, rushes to her and grabs her wrist. She looks at him with an infuriated stare.

"No killing, Talia."

"Fine."

Their attention then turns to William, who is still struggling with Emiko. Their positioning has changed a bit, their distance now wider, their hands on each other's shoulders. He waits patiently for an opening while Emiko tries to force it, employing quick little sidesteps away from table edges and pushes to attempt to put him off balance.

 _Emiko seems to be an athletic fighter but lacks strength and patience. Unknown if her anger stems from wanting to end the fight quickly or from some unchecked anger. Either way, she's letting it cloud her judgement. This can open up an opportunity._

As Emiko goes for one last push, William uses her momentum to pull her and himself downward. As he lets himself fall, he places one leg on her gut and his hands move to her sides. As his back rolls on the tabletop, he throws her off towards the floor.

Emiko lands hard on the floor, the fall seemingly not injuring her in any big way. She seemed to be conditioned to resist pain like that, for she is slowly getting up. Taking advantage of her slow recovery, William aims his bow while Mr. Palmer aims his energy blaster. Both of them are ready to knock her out.

However, before they even fire, Emiko quickly raises out her hand. "Wait, Stop!"

William holds his arrow in place and Ray his arm, ready for any surprise attacks.

Emiko slowly starts to get up, showing no signs of surprise attacks just yet. She then, oddly enough, points to the entrance to Level 2.

"Go."

The four of them looks at her with confused stares. Emiko just gives a frustrated sigh. "The guards will be here any minute. Go!"

Talia and Ray Palmer start to run out of the room, but William and Oliver aren't satisfied with her unexplained behavior. "Why are you letting us go?"

"Because as much as I hate your family Oliver, you'll owe me. Both of you will. And before you both even ask, you'll know when I need something from you. Now go!"

Figuring that they won't get the answers they want, Oliver and William run to the exit, their concern back to getting out of here in one piece.

* * *

William leads Oliver into the morgue, where Talia and Ray are waiting by the chute. Oliver notices that the blonde-haired woman, who is supposed to cover this exit, is nowhere to be seen.

"Wait, there was another woman here."

"I know Dad. I told her to leave ahead of us." William walks over to Ray and gives him the bug/USB drive. "Mr. Palmer, give this to Captain Drake. I'll be right behind you."

Ray nods and then shrinks down before flying into the chute. William then turns to Oliver and stretches his hand out. "Dad. Do you still have Dr. Parker?"

Oliver takes out the small capsule and gives it to William, who gives it over to Talia. "Meet with Ray up top and give this to him." As she tries to grab it, he gently pulls the capsule away. "If you kill him, I'll know."

"Okay. I get it. Just hurry and give him to me."

William hands the capsule to her. She puts it in her pocket and then climbs the rope up to the hole that leads outside.

William steps aside from the chute and stretches out his hand towards it. "Here Dad. After you. I'll be right behind you."

Oliver doesn't move. Instead, he takes a couple of steps back. He stands firm, even when he knows how disappointed William will be when he hears Oliver's answer.

William lowers his hand. "Dad?" He lowers his face mask and switches the button that raises the white lenses away. Oliver can see the horror on William's face, indicating that he already knows what Oliver intends to do. "Dad, you can't do this."

"William…if I go up there, if I escape, I'll be branded a runaway criminal."

"And if you don't get out of here, the guards will pummel you for what you did here. Possibly kill you."

"I have to stay. I know this doesn't seem fair, but I have to William."

"I won't-"

"William." Oliver places his hands on William's shoulders. "Go. I'll be fine."

William steps away, looking to the chute and back to Oliver. He then puts a finger to his ear. "John, Captain Drake, how far are you from the morgue?" After a while, he nods his head. "Okay."

He brings his hand down and takes something out from his pocket. It looks like a remote control. He quickly hands it to Oliver. "John and Captain Drake are 30 seconds away. This remote will activate a few traps I set for the guards."

Oliver then hears faint footsteps from the hallway. "They're coming. Get going. Go!"

William rushes to the chute. Before he goes in, he looks to Oliver. "We'll talk once Diaz is taken down. And I am going to get you out of this place. I promise."

William then climbs into the chute and up the rope, assuring Oliver that he is safe and sound. He then looks around the room, trying to find the traps William told him about. He sees three arrows with what look like claws or grapples on them, placed in the corners of the room. He finds one more above the small hallway that gives off sparks of electricity. It's probably something like the electric wristband, but milder. He looks at the remote control, seeing a touch display that says _"grapple arrows"_ on the left and _"electric arrow"_ on the right. Also, on each side of the display are a couple strings of text that say, _"Arrows primed. Press to use."_

Oliver hears the door break down, a guard shouting, "Go, go, go!" He sees a couple of guards stepping out of the small hallway, wearing padded gear and helmets with face shields. Without hesitation, he presses the button for the shock arrow. It shocks the first three guards. They convulse and scream quickly, but not as excruciatingly as someone with the wristband on would, before falling to the ground unconscious. No one else enters though. Oliver believes these three were just the first wave to eliminate any defenses.

Not too long after, another wave of guards comes in, about 6 in total, readying batons. Feeling that they are close enough to the last set of traps, he activates the grapple arrows. The rope extending the grapples make it as far as the center of the room, grabbing and pulling back 3 more guards. They now hover over the corners of the room, struggling to get down.

 _6 down. 3 more to go._

As the first guard comes in with a vertical swing, Oliver drops the remote and rolls out of the way. As he comes out of the roll, he grabs the leg of the third guard and lifts it up as he stands, flipping the guard over. Oliver quickly picks up his baton and blocks an incoming attack from the second guard. He then traps the guard's wrist, lowers the arm, and hammer fists the face visor, which protects him from pain, but still staggering him. He follows it up with a low sweep kick.

The first guard then comes in with another vertical swing which Oliver ducks under easily. Before he could counterattack, he feels a baton hitting him in the shin, forcing him to his knee. He glances down for a second, seeing the second guard still in the fight. Oliver tries to get up but is then punched in the face by the first guard, sending him down to the floor.

Soon after, he gets kicked by the first guard, followed by another one, then another, then another. Oliver puts up his arms, protecting himself from the kicks, but he can still feel the pain. Then, he can feel kicks coming from behind him at the same time, then to his stomach.

While this happens, one of the guards starts to speak, "You ruined our whole OPERATION. Ruined our only way of TAMING these animals. If we're going down, we're taking YOU-"

"Freeze! Hands in the air and get on your knees. Step away from him. Now!"

"You heard her! On your knees. Do it now!"

The voices of Dinah and John become music to Oliver's ears, allowing him to relax just a little. Yet, his arms fall to the floor completely from exhaustion. The guards do as they are told, stepping away from Oliver and going down on their knees with their hands up. He can see Dinah and, strangely enough, Samantha Watson coming into view, going behind them with their guns pointed to the guards' heads. Dinah puts her pistol away and handcuffs them one by one while Watson keeps them in her sight.

Suddenly, he feels someone picking him up and bringing him to his feet. He feels one arm around someone's shoulder, his wrist being held and an arm holding him by the waist. He looks to his side, seeing John looking back at him.

"You all right Oliver?"

Oliver nods. He then says a bit weakly, "Thank you."

John nods back in acknowledgement, carrying Oliver out of the morgue while pressing a button on his ear.

"This is John Diggle to HQ. I need backup from the outpost near Slabside Penitentiary. Now!"

* * *

"What do you mean Slabside Penitentiary has been broken into?!"

" **That's just what I'm telling you sir. Level 2 was broken into almost 2 minutes ago."**

"Well, by whom?!"

" **By the…by the Green Arrow as well as members of Oliver's old group. I assure you, me and the others did our best."**

"You do realize that if anything about our operations gets out, that means…"

" **That's…the data's gone too sir."**

"You're sure of that? All of it is gone?"

" **Yes sir. Everything Dr. Parker cataloged was taken from his computer."**

Dante removes the phone from his ear for a moment and pinches the bridge of his nose. He then lets out a heavy, frustrated sigh. Regaining his composure, he brings the phone back to his ear.

"What about any information about us?"

" **It was erased before the break-in sir. I saw it myself. It seems like Dr. Parker didn't want to take any chances with Queen."**

"Good."

" **What about us sir? My men and I will be investigated. They'll have no choice but to fire us, or worse, arrest us."**

"Let me handle it. Just go home and be with your family. Have a good night."

" **Um, you too sir."**

As soon as the guard hung up, Dante slams the phone back into place and kicks his chair away. He places his hands on his face, yelling into them.

 _It's ruined. Ruined! That was our last source of fast recruitment and now it's been destroyed by Oliver's destructive child. By…_

As he furiously throws his hands down on the table, he hears something fall. He looks to the picture frame flat on the desk and picks it up. He sees the picture of him and Samantha, taken during a time when her loyalty had no bounds, when he felt that they would become close enough that he could've told her how he truly felt. He then remembered that he told her too late. Remembered what tore that dream apart. He sighs a more calm, somber sigh.

 _By your child. The child I swore to…_

He shakes his head, trying to refocus himself. He then picks up the phone to call up Emiko. He knew that when the soon to be ex guards went back home, that would be the time to erase potential evidence.

* * *

Felicity taps her foot, becoming a bit impatient with Laurel, who is looking through all the files taken from Level 2. So far, she has had the same look since she started looking: Eyes wide, her jaw dropped a bit, her focus fixed on the computer screen.

After what seemed like minutes, she finally looks up to Felicity and says, "You got all this from a maximum-security prison?"

"For the third time, yes. Can we convict this guy or not?"

"Yeah, we can, but…you'll need a convincing story on how you found all this for the judge."

"Simple. There was an inspection and a police search going on and the alarm went off. Dinah, John, and Watson took action and searched the lower level and saved Oliver, who told them where to find the information."

"And about how they found Level 2 in the first place?"

"Watson dug up some old photos and blueprints in preparation and found the old prison lying around in the documents. She knew the morgue was part of it and knew that since there were no prisoners escaping, it must've been something going on down there. As you can see, we thought of everything."

Laurel looks to Watson, who is leaning against the wall, her arms crossed.

She nods her head. "I did do my research. The story will hold."

Laurel raised an eyebrow, probably a bit skeptical. "Well, I might edit a few of the details in your story, but the evidence is solid. Parker's not going to get out of this like he did in Arkham."

Felicity smiles gleefully and claps her hands together. "Oh, thank you. You are the best."

"Yeah, yeah. Now, if you'll let me get to this."

Watson leans away from the wall. "Fine by me. I have to go and report to my superiors at the Time Bureau anyways."

As Watson starts to leave, Felicity quickly stops her by saying. "Wait. Just…thanks for helping us, even though we costed you your old job."

"Well, you made my first mission go smoothly. You can consider that settling a debt for that…and for almost messing things up by kidnapping the Silencer."

Felicity's eyes grow wide and takes a couple steps back. _Oh god. She knows. Of course she knows. she's with a time traveling agency. Is she placing me under arrest? Oh god, don't put me under—_

"Will you both relax?" Felicity turns to Laurel, who looks more cautious than worried, almost ready to pounce. "That little stunt you pulled has drastically changed things. Things we now can't change."

"Um, what kind of things are we talking about exactly?"

"Well, I'm not at liberty to tell you, Ms. Smoak. There are too many possibilities and telling you one of them may result in you messing it up. At least, that's what the Wave Rider's AI said. Besides, you'll see soon enough. All I can tell you is that you need to be prepared. If you do it right…you'll take down Diaz. Now, if that's all, I'll be going."

Watson rushes out of the door, leaving Felicity and probably Laurel feeling a bit stunned by how the conversation went. That, and a little frustrated that they didn't get a whole lot out of it.

"Well, that went…somewhat well. I guess I'll get going too."

"Fine."

Felicity walks to the door. Just as she reaches the small hallway leading to it, she remembers that she wanted to tell Laurel something before but couldn't due to the sensitivity of their mission.

She turns back around and walks back to the desk. "Actually…there's something I wanted to tell you."

Laurel looks up from her work, looking only vaguely interested.

"I never got to thank you for, you know, showing me another way that didn't involve torturing the Silencer."

Laurel puts her pencil down and gets up from her seat. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. This new you, the you that is doing anything to catch Diaz…it reminds me of you back in Earth-2."

Felicity starts to become a bit curious, her eyebrow raised. "We know each other on Earth-2?"

"Everyone knows you. You're the heiress to a multi-billion tech company."

Her curiosity then turns into intrigue. She smiles and points to herself. "I am an heiress?"

"Yes, but unlike you, she was ruthless." Felicity's smile fades upon hearing that. "You got what you wanted by any means necessary, not giving a damn about the consequences and pushing all regret aside. So, let me tell you this. If you really want to stop Diaz, you must be ruthless. Even if that means—"

"I kill him?"

Laurel nods. "If you want to stop that monster for good, it's the only way. Trust me."

Inside, Felicity wants to agree. She wants to say that killing Diaz will be her top priority. Instead she gives a little nod and says, "Right. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you get to work now."

"Good."

Felicity leaves and heads towards the elevator in a hurry. As she does, she starts to think about why she didn't say what she wanted to say, what made her hesitate. One answer comes to mind: _What would William say?_

* * *

The elevator reached the floor, opening up to a decent looking hallway, something she wasn't used to in the Glades. Dinah knows that, after that whole fiasco at Slabside, she just wanted to go home to her apartment, fall onto her bed, and sleep. But she knew she couldn't do that just yet. She had some business to deal with first.

So, she walks down the hallway until she sees the number she is looking for and rings the bell. After a few seconds, the door opens, slowly revealing Rene, who actually smiles in her presence. Considering everything that has happened, she is glad that he is happy to see her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Rene glances at her, probably noticing her fatigue and tired eyes. "Long day?"

"Yeah. It was. But Oliver's safe and we stopped Parker."

"Good to hear."

"Thanks. How's Zoe?"

"Doing better." He steps aside a bit and stretches out an inviting arm. "You want to come inside?"

Dinah shakes her head. "No, no. Thank you. I just-" She stops for a minute, taking a breath to try and form the words in her brain that has been rattled from searching, preparation, rescue, and filing. "I came by to tell you that I'm sorry. For arresting you, I mean. I was-"

"Don't. As far as I'm concerned, you made up for it when you helped to take down Cortez and Parker. I know your heart is in the right place and that you're just trying to restore faith in the SCPD. So, all's forgiven."

Dinah smiles. "Thanks Rene."

"Dad? Is that Aunt Dinah?"

Rene turns to the direction of Zoe's voice. "Yeah. Come out and say hi." He turns back to Dinah with a smirk. "She's been asking for you since she got back."

Dinah becomes a bit surprised. "Really? Even after arresting you?"

"She kinda knew you wouldn't take kindly to me poking around in certain places. But then I told her of how you kicked an arsonist's ass with the Green Arrow."

She smiles again, almost chuckling. "I'm guessing she was amazed by that story?"

"Astounded."

Dinah sees Zoe coming down the hallway, looking ecstatic as she reaches the doorway.

"Aunt Dinah, is it true? Did you really beat up a bunch of bad guys alongside the Green Arrow?"

Knowing that there may be neighbors that are awake, Dinah raises her hands and motions for Zoe to stop. "Yes, yes. It's true. It's also something that I don't want anyone else here to know about."

Zoe's voice reduces to almost a whisper. "Oh, right. Sorry. I guess I'll just leave you to talk to Dad."

"Actually, I came to see you too…" She reaches into her pocket and takes out the small black box containing the present for Zoe. "…to give you this." She opens it up, showing a gold, handcrafted shirt pin that is shaped like a canary. Zoe looks at it with admiration.

"It looks cool. You got that for me?"

"Yeah. Here." Dinah kneels down and places the pin on Zoe's shirt.

Seeing how it looks on her, Zoe gives a heart-warming smile. "It looks great. I like it a lot."

"I'm glad." Dinah then gets up. "Well, I have to go. See you soon Zoe."

"Okay. Thanks Aunt Dinah." Zoe runs back into the apartment, probably to get ready for bed.

Dinah then looks again to Rene. "See you soon?"

"Sure."

As she turns to leave, Rene stops her. "D. I'm glad that you helped. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Thank you for forgiving me."

"Of course. Have a good night."

"You too."

She then starts to walk back to the elevator, hearing Rene's door closing behind her. With that finally out of the way, she now feels that she can rest, knowing that her friendship with Rene hasn't been destroyed by everything that has happened.

* * *

William walks down the stairs to his hideout as he talks to Mr. Palmer. "So, our future is secure? Dr. Parker isn't a threat?"

" **As far as we can see, no. The only thing Gideon sees as a threat is Diaz."**

"I can handle him. The time alert that the Time Bureau gave me will help."

" **Yeah, about that. You told me that the predictions have been coming later and later. Right? Well, you once said yourself in a speech that the future is always changing, and all possibilities have a chance of happening. So, the more possibilities open up-"**

"The less likely the most possible scenario shows up on the time alert sooner. Okay. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Mr. Palmer. And good luck with the Demon problem."

" **Thanks. Oh, first off, please call me Ray. We're friends now. With that being said, if you need help, don't be afraid to ask. The Legends of Tomorrow are here to help."**

William sighs to the remark as he makes it halfway down the stairs. "You don't have to go by that name, you know."

" **Well, I like it. You know, it's like something you put on a business card. 'The Legends of Tomorrow. Here to solve all your time travel and Demon-'"**

"Goodbye Ray."

William hangs up before he can hear anymore crummy proposals. He makes it down the stairs, where Mia should be waiting for him. He came alone because as much as he wanted to tell Felicity and the others about her, he wants to make sure that Mia is stable enough to be with others, especially given what Dr. Parker did in Level 2.

"Hey Mia. We did it. We stopped Dr-"

Strangely enough, he doesn't find anyone down here. He walks to the center of the room, looking around for any sign of her.

"Mia?"

 _Where did she go?_

He looked to the computer monitor, seeing that it is playing the time camera attached to Oliver's photo with a view of Oliver in the medical wing. As he gets closer, he spots a piece of paper below the monitor with the words "Read me" written on it. So far, William does not like what this and her disappearance imply. Nevertheless, he picks it up, opens it, and reads it.

" _Hey Will, thanks for saving me and for trying to save Dad. I know that you were probably looking forward to a family reunion, but I can't. The truth is that I let you down."_

As William read on, hearing what Dr. Parker did to her, he starts to feel his blood boil.

" _I need to make these people pay for what they did to me. For what they did to our family. Don't tell Mom and Dad of me. If you did or if they figured it out somehow, tell them to not come for me. I need to do this alone, for my sake and all of yours. Your sister, Mia."_

When he was done reading, he crumpled the piece of paper in his hand. He sits down, trying to absorb the information he has just learned.

 _Mia. If you just stayed here a little longer-_

"I'm sorry."

The familiar voice of Talia Al Gual, who he didn't see on the way in, didn't cause him to be alarmed. In fact, he hoped she would be here. He sees her out of her prison attire and in a traditional League of Assassin robe.

"I came here wanting to dissuade her one last time, but she-"

"So, you knew?" He looked at her with an almost neutral stare, trying to contain his anger. "You knew that they tortured her?"

"I tried to help her through it, to find some comfort. She wouldn't listen, kept talking about how she would hunt the Ninth Circle Down. But I thought that since you encountered her, you would keep her in your sights at all times."

William finds it hard to keep his anger inside any longer. He bursts out, "I didn't know! How was I supposed to know?!"

"You would've seen her emotional state in an instant and made a clear judgement not clouded by emotion! It's what your mentor would've done."

That last sentence stops William from speaking another word. He becomes surprised that she could guess who his mentor was.

"I know what you did back at Level 2. You analyzed the battle, considering every factor, and improvised your strategy as the fight went along. Those are things I know of him to do." She walks over to him, stopping at the edge of the desk. "Also…" She picks up the cowl. "This is a dead giveaway."

"That cowl is my past and will be my future."

She puts it back down. "You sound as if your giving up the Green Arrow persona."

"It was never my persona. I was just upholding it. People are starting to believe in heroes again. Soon…I won't be the Green Arrow anymore."

"Hm. Pity. It suited you. But I suppose you didn't ask me here to tell me all that."

"No. I didn't." William stands up and takes the I.D. and passport he forged for Talia out of his pocket. "Even though you helped Adrian Chase and the Ninth Circle, you saved my father and a bunch of prisoners in Slabside. So, I thought I would give you this."

He hands them to Talia, who looks at them carefully. She's probably looking for any tracking signals or something of that nature.

She then looks up to William with a cautious yet curious stare. "Why?"

William smirks. "Growing up under his care, I would catch glimpses of him looking at a photo he kept stashed in the library. I got curious, so one day, I took it from the hiding place, just to look at it. It was a picture of you and him. You two were posing on a balcony."

"At one of his charity galas. I was supposed to assassinate him but I was…" Talia smiles a bit and looked almost ready to burst into tears, but regained a bit of her composure. "Why—why are you telling me this?"

"Because, when he caught me finding the photo, he didn't get mad. Rather, he told me about you. He said you were special, how you were the only woman who could bring warmth to a cold heart. He said you were his-"

"Beloved?"

William nodded, his smirk getting a bit bigger.

"He…he thought about me for all these years? I…I don't know what to-"

"You don't need to. Just go to STAR Labs. Some friends of mine are expecting you. They'll take you to him."

"But I-" she hesitates a bit. "I don't know if I want that kind of life."

"Well, it's better than following in your father's footsteps. Right?"

"But…what about younger you? Won't he be-"

"My younger self already discovered that Mom was part of a cult that was hunting her for years. Besides, I called 'him' up and told him to tell younger me about you. It'll still take a while, but 'I'll' warm up to you. I promise."

She looks down to the floor, not in contemplation, so far as William can tell. Rather, it seems like guilt. After a little while, she looks up to William.

"I never hated your mother. Apart from being one of the Ninth Circle's best recruits, she was a good friend." She reached into her pocket, taking what looks like a cd out. "So, I did something she requested of me before we went our separate ways on Lian Yu."

She gives the disc to William. He looks on both sides of it, seeing no labels on it.

"What is this?"

"Your mother's parting words, if she were to ever die. She wanted me to give this to you personally."

He doesn't hesitate to give it back. "Then give it to past me. If it's Mom, then he deserves to see it too. The memory of it will manifest in my head."

"I don't think your younger self is ready-"

"He is. Trust me." He takes the breach button from his desk and presses it, opening the breach behind her. "Now go. Your new life awaits."

Talia nods. She quickly grabs her things she left beside his bed and walks to the breach. Before she goes through, she turns to William. "Thank you."

She then goes through the breach, which closes just as she goes through. What doubt William had of Talia agreeing to go through with his proposal is now gone after their conversation. He could tell that Talia had been waiting to see him for a long time. Hopefully, when she gets there, he will be glad to have her by his side once more, and that younger him will adapt to the change.

Now, though, with the matter settled, his mind now turned to other things. He promised his dad that he would see him again once Diaz was taken down, that he would get him out of that hell hole. Now is the time to deliver on that promise.

* * *

After what seemed like hours of medical examination, he was finally discharged from the medical wing and sent back to his old cell. Along the way there, he can see Stanley poking his head out, looking left and right until he sees Oliver.

"Oliver! Hey!" Stanley looked estatic, as he always seems to be when he sees Oliver.

Oliver is put in his cell, the bar doors closing behind him. He leans against the wall parallel to Stanley, knowing that he would want to have a talk.

"I heard you were coming back from Level 2. I knew you would, not a doubt about it. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Stanley. I'm just…a bit exhausted."

"Well, after fighting your way through Level 2, who wouldn't be."

Oliver looks to the side to try and see Stanley, only seeing the top of his head, after hearing that. "You know about that?"

"Well yeah. The guards were whispering about how you and the Green Arrow kicked their asses. Also, get this. Most of the guards here are being fired and newer security guards are coming in. People much less corrupt than what we have now. Probably just as stubborn as York was."

Oliver smirks. _They did it._

"Then that means things are going to change."

"They already have. You'll see."

Oliver places his head back and smiles. _I sure will._

* * *

After a whole week of busting criminals and paperwork, John now feels like he has brass weights on his shoulders. He enters the apartment, seeing nobody in sight. He closes the door gently as to not wake J.J and Lyla, who he knows is back. He walks to the couch and crashes onto it, letting himself almost melt into it.

He closes his eyes, feeling like he will just sleep on the couch. Just as he is about to drift off, he feels a pair of hands clench and rub his shoulders. He doesn't become alarmed, for he has felt those hands enough times to know who's they are.

He opens his eyes to see the face of his beautiful wife.

"Hey there soldier."

John smiles to the ever-beautiful sight that gives him more joy than anything else. "Hey there boss."

Lyla leans in for a kiss, John feeling like it has been forever since he felt her lips, even though she had been gone for only a few days.

"How was the mission?"

She lets go of his shoulders and circles around the couch as she says, "The mission was a success. Everyone was coordinating perfectly and there wasn't a hitch."

"Good to hear."

She sits down and eyes John's face. "You look worn out."

John rubs his eyes, trying to get the tiredness out of them. "Yeah, it's been a long week."

Lyla leans on John's shoulder, allowing him to wrap an arm around her. Her beside him gives him a feeling of warmth and comfort.

"So I saw on the reports. Bringing down Wolfman, an arsonist, and an entire cult's child abduction and criminal recruitment rings."

John then remembers that Lyla has access to the digital reports, even abroad. Luckily, he never mentions William or the Green Arrow on them. He believes Lyla should know, but not through public channels and not with the future at stake. He believed that William will tell him when Lyla can know.

Lyla leans away, prompting John to pry his arm off, but keeps it close behind her as she sits up. "But I can't help but wonder how you got that information."

John rubs his eyes again, letting out a sigh. _Dammit. Not now._

"Lyla, can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"We can't. Deputy Director Bell is insisting on an answer and I need it now. Please John."

As much as John wanted to keep William safe, he and Lyla promised each other to never lie again after the whole incident with John taking drugs to control his tremor. Drugs produced by Diaz.

He gives another sigh. "Okay, but don't be mad at me. I'm…I'm working with the Green Arrow."

Lyla's eyes grow a bit wide, but she does not get angry with him. Instead, she says, "Wow. Okay, I knew you were against the anti-vigilante law, but working with the Green Arrow copycat is-"

"He's helped us more than once. I trust him."

"You wouldn't trust him that much to keep him a secret from me unless…" She pauses for a moment, her eyes growing wider. John knew what that meant. It was a look that meant she realized something.

"Who is it?"

"Lyla, I can't say. Not now, at least."

"John, I can't be left out of the loop here. If it's someone you trust, then I can trust him too."

"It's…it's complicated."

"We've confirmed the existence of meta-humans, aliens, and time travel. We are past complicated. Whatever it is, I can handle it and you can trust me with it." She puts a hand on John's palm. "Please."

John wraps his hand around hers tenderly. As much as he hates to do this to William, he knows that he must. Withholding information from her is the last thing he would ever want to do. Besides, it's Lyla. He knows that he can trust her with anything, and she keeps to her word. Well, most of the time.

John nods, hoping he won't regret this.

"Okay. The truth is-"

"My name is William Queen."

The sound of William's voice alarms both of them. They turn to see him standing by a window, wearing the Green Arrow suit. His face mask is pulled down and his white lenses flicker off, but he keeps the hood on.

Lyla immediately gets up, looking ready to fight. John quickly puts a hand on her shoulder, telling her to stand down. She looks back with a confused look. John nods to her, indicating that what he says is the truth. She relaxes herself and goes from confused to surprised. She turns back to William, who still stands there, probably waiting for her to calm down.

"I come from the future to give you a warning. Years from now, ARGUS turns into a corrupt military organization, turning cities into police states as well as capturing and experimenting on meta-humans to use their powers as weapons. Worst of all, they do these things with no moral boundaries and extreme methods. To put it simply, it's Amanda Waller's ARGUS all over again."

John and Lyla, as they listen, are shocked of these disturbing details. For years, Lyla has been trying to make ARGUS into a more honest organization after Waller's death. John can only imagine what Lyla is thinking now that she is hearing that all of it has been for nothing.

"I can help you avert that future, but I need you to do a couple of things for me, for they are essential."

He takes a couple more steps towards them, probably seeing if he has Lyla's full trust at this point. She doesn't try to fight, now knowing who this is, and probably because too many thoughts about ARGUS are going through her head.

"You're going to help Laurel Lance get my Dad out of jail…and you're going to make him the Green Arrow again."

* * *

" _A rubix cube? Why did Felicity go out of her way to hide this?"_

 _William understood Roy's confusion, and probably Mr. Diggle's. But he knew there was more to this cube. He remembered what Felicity taught him._

" _I think I know." He started to move the pieces around, arranging the cube as he remembered it. "When we were in protective custody in New Haven, Felicity taught me that an algorithm is like a rubix cube, since both are like puzzles. Her favorite was a cube within a cube."_

 _When he finished the puzzle, he set it down, showing a four-piece green cube within a white border. So far, it did nothing._

 _Roy scoffed at it. "Well, this was-"_

 _Suddenly, the cube projected a hologram, showing what looked like the Glades in its current state. Below it was a bunch of red lines and squares, a few of them extending from the bottom of certain buildings._

 _Roy was stunned. "John, is that-"_

" _An entire map of the Glades, yeah. But there's some underground routes as well. And the red squares there look like a couple of hidden bunkers."_

" _Sounds mysterious."_

 _The mysterious voice alarmed William and Roy, but not John for some reason. Across the room was a woman wearing a black eye mask as well as a black jacket and pants. Though she looked drastically different, William recognized a few of her facial features well to get an idea of who this woman was._

" _Zoe?"_

 _She smiled at him, telling him that his guess was right._

" _Long time no see William."_

 _He smirked, glad to see an old friend after so long. "What are you doing here?"_

" _She's with me." John walked to her. "Did you scout the outside perimeter like I asked?"_

" _Yes sir. So far, nobody has come to find their friends. Exfil is secure."_

" _Good, then we can get out of here." As he stopped by her side, he looked to William and Roy. "First, a quick question. How exactly did you know where that cube was?"_

 _William took out and held out the hozen. "Felicity. She's been guiding us every step of the way."_

 _John then gave a wide-eyed stare. "She did? No, that's impossible."_

 _William became confused, as did Roy. "How is that impossible, Mr. Diggle?" John looked like he was about to say something, but then chocked on the words. He looked down as if afraid to give an answer._

" _Mr. Diggle, what are you not telling us?"_

 _John sighed and looked up, sadness and guilt riddled on his face. "I…I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but…William, Felicity's dead."_

 _The news made Willliam horrified. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. For so long, he kept his emotions in check as his mentor taught him. But now, hearing this, he felt that his whole world collapsed once again. The possibility he didn't want to face was now realized. He had lost another mother as he did so many years ago._

* * *

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite this story if you like it so far and follow it so you don't miss a new chapter when it comes out. Also, leave a review and share this story with whoever you think will like it. Once again, thanks for reading and have a good day.


	8. Episode 7: The Crosses to Bear

**Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references from the CW and DC Universe, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

 _My name is William Queen_

 _A man from the future who has come to the past with one goal_

 _To save Star City_

 _With my father, Oliver Queen, out of harm's way and Team Arrow slowly getting back together_

 _I now work with them to take down Ricardo Diaz and the Longbow Hunters once and for all_

 _And to do so, I must be someone else_

 _Be something else_

 _I am the new Green Arrow…For now_

* * *

Episode 7: The Crosses to Bear

* * *

He awakens to a drop of water that drips onto his head. He looks around quickly, finding himself in what looks like a garage, given the red car and the tools on the wooden table next to him. He collects his thoughts, trying to remember the last thing that happened before ending up here.

He remembers being on the roof of Bratva headquarters, having a face off against members of the Bratva that betrayed him for allegations that were false. Then, there was silence, as if all the sound around them just got sucked out by a vacuum.

Next, he remembers a shield with blades on the rim being thrown to a couple of his men, cutting their heads clean off. Another three were killed by poison darts shot at their necks. Finally, he remembered an arm wrapping around his neck, the world fading to black as he ran out of air.

He tries to move, but finds himself wrapped by a chain to the chair he is in. His feet are also bound by a rope holding them together.

 _Whoever kidnapped me knew I could have escape handcuffs easily. But who-_

"Awake at last."

He recognizes the voice behind him. It is a voice he both dreads and hates. He can hear footsteps circling around him until he can see the brutish figure known as Ricardo Diaz.

Diaz crouches down to see Anatoly's face and smirks. "It's been a long time."

Seeing this as the opportunity to show his gratitude, Anatoly spits on Diaz's face. Diaz, however, barely flinches. He stands back up and chuckles a bit. He then punches Anatoly's face. The punch felt like 10 bricks almost dislocating his jaw, not knowing whether Diaz put his full force into it or did something to enhance himself.

Anatoly looks back up, Diaz's smirk now a glare. "Do you remember the last time we saw each other?"

"You sent assassins. You killed my brothers. All of them!"

Quickly, Diaz takes an axe from the table and puts the blade to Anatoly's neck. Anatoly shows no fear. He knows what is to come and accepts it. He now has nothing left to lose anyways.

"Let me jog your memory." He circles around Anatoly as he talks, keeping the axe close to the neck as possible. "You betrayed me. I trusted you. I thought of us as friends."

"A man like you has no friends."

As Diaz completes his walk around, he heads to the table, his eyes still on Anatoly. "Where are your friends? huh?! Who else do you think will come? Let's see." As he approaches the table, he looks up to the ceiling, calling out, "Oliver Queen?!"

Diaz slams his hands onto the table, startling Anatoly a bit. Diaz then looks back at him. "Team Arrow's not coming to save you. They're gone brother." Anatoly sees Diaz ditch the axe and pick up a blowtorch and something to help start up the fire. He starts to flick the device as he nears Anatoly. "You picked the losing side."

"Really? Last I heard, a new Green Arrow makes life worse for you. Now, what are you waiting for? Kill me already."

Diaz flicks the lighter on and off next to Anatoly as he expects his demise. Instead, Diaz says, "No. First, I got a job for you." He brings the lighter in front of the blowtorch nozzle, sparking a violent flame. "You're going to help me destroy…Oliver Queen."

As Diaz slowly puts the flame to Anatoly's hand, he tries his best to resist the pain. However, the intense heat and the feeling of his burning flesh become too much and he starts to scream in agony.

* * *

"I thought mind control only existed in movies."

"It wasn't mind control Stanley. It was…twisted rehabilitation."

With their lunch in hand, Oliver and Stanley head to the usual table. As they do, Oliver glanced at the new guards, now covered in riot gear. It has only been a couple of days and already changes have been made. Prisoners have less time outside and cells are checked every half-hour.

As they reached their table and sat down, Oliver asks Stanley, "These guys haven't been much trouble, have they?"

"Well, they're rougher than Yorke, but I'm glad they're here. Now I don't have to peer over my shoulder worrying that Brick will take out his rage on me, especially since you shut down his operation."

To their right, they hear a disturbance. They see Dunbar, one of the old guards allowed to be here, taking Brick's tray and dumping his meal all over the floor. This confuses Oliver a bit since Dunbar was on Brick's payroll a while back.

"What happened between Brick and Dunbar?"

"Well, since the whole fight fiasco and most of the staff being cut, Dunbar's been treating Brick like…well, you."

Oliver sees Dunbar heading towards his direction. Already, he doesn't like where this is heading.

"4587, on your feet."

Instead of obliging, Oliver antagonizes him. "Are my food privileges revoked?"

As Dunbar reaches Oliver, he starts to look a bit annoyed. "No. You have a visitor, so get up."

"I thought my visitation was revoked."

"Well, now it's reinstated, so you either get up or I drag you there."

Feeling that Dunbar is serious, Oliver gets up. "Fine." Dunbar puts a pair of cuffs on Oliver and leads the way to the visiting area.

* * *

John checks his phone for any messages from William or Lyla. Ever since William revealed himself to Lyla, both of them have been working almost around the clock, Lyla with finding any strings to pull that can get Oliver on an early release and William trying to find Diaz. So far, no new messages.

As he puts his phone in his pocket and looks up, he sees Oliver coming from the door on the opposite side of the visitation room. Oliver smirks as his eyes are set on John, probably glad to see a friendly face. Oliver walks to the window and sits down. Both of them take the phones off the ringers.

"You're looking better."

Oliver's smirk turns into a small smile. "Well, better than I was a couple of days ago. Thank you again for saving me."

"You should thank William. He planned the entire thing."

"So, you know?"

"All of the old team does. And now, so does Lyla."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, that's why I came here. William came to our apartment last night and…we've made an arrangement. We're now doing everything in our power to get you out of jail and working as the Green Arrow again. But you'll have to do so under our supervision."

Oliver leans in a bit, intrigue riddled on his face. "Is that possible?"

"With the whole Level 2 fiasco spreading like wildfire and other possible scandals being revealed, chances are high, but I wouldn't get our hopes up."

"You have a good lawyer to make a case, right?"

"Well, that's another thing. William insisted that Laurel Lance be your lawyer."

Oliver's eyes grow wide and he quickly leans in a bit closer. "You don't mean—"

John keeps his voice to a whisper, trying to calm Oliver down before he accidently blurts it out. "Yes, I do mean Earth-2 Laurel. And yes, I tried to recommend someone else, but William insisted on her."

Oliver calms down, but only a bit. "Why?"

John then goes back to speaking in a regular voice. "Because, for one actual good reason, she's the one prosecuting Parker and is leading the investigation into Level 2, so she's the one with the evidence to help you get out of jail."

"And the other?"

"William just says that he trusts her. Something about not letting someone kill somebody else."

Oliver looks at John with a confused stare.

"Yeah, he didn't elaborate, but he's helping us alter a future event and folding in with ARGUS in exchange."

"He's joined ARGUS?"

"Not fully. He only wants a partial involvement with us for now. So, we're working with what we've got here."

"And if that's not enough?"

John looks left and right, making sure no one is listening before saying, "We put a mole inside Slabside that is in the ranks of the new guards sent in. If anything happens, he tells us, and we send it in as an anonymous tip. Plus, we're looking into finding the guards who got laid off and convince them to give a statement. We're leaving no corners unturned for this one."

Suddenly, John hears a beep and a vibration from his pocket. He takes his cell phone out and looks at his messages, seeing a message from William, or G.A, as he calls himself in the texts.

" _Found lead on Diaz. Meet me at my place ASAP. G.A."_

John quickly puts the cell phone back in his pocket. "Looks like William is on Diaz's trail. I got to go."

"WAIT."

John hesitates to take the phone from his ear and stands up only partially. He sits back down and waits to hear what Oliver has to say.

"Sorry, I…I need to know. What's he like? As the Green Arrow?"

John smirks. "A bit like you. Just as cautious and stubborn, probably even more. But he shares your devotion to keeping the city safe. But he has no inclination for killing, even if it seems necessary."

John can see Oliver sigh, even though it is very subtle. "That's good to hear. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself Oliver and be careful."

Oliver nods. "Same to you. And…tell William I said hi."

"Will do."

John hangs the phone back up, then gets up to leave. As he walks away, he turns back and sees Oliver being cuffed by a guard before being escorted out of the room.

 _We'll get you out of there Oliver. For your sake and ours._

* * *

As Laurel finishes up the rest of her paperwork for tonight, she hears her office door open down the hall. She looks up to see Felicity quickly entering the room. At this point, Laurel isn't surprised, given that Felicity is always asking for favors. But it means that Diaz may be in their reach, so Laurel doesn't kick Felicity out just yet.

"Why are you here?"

"I found Diaz."

Laurel sets down her pencil and stands up. "You did?"

"Well, I found the Silencer's location, which may lead to Diaz. Point is, we need to get him now while he's still there."

"Why me?"

"Because you're right. Diaz needs to be stopped and there's only one way to be sure he never harms me or my family again. So, are you coming or what?"

Laurel smirks. "You're becoming ruthless. Good. That means you do have what it takes." Laurel walks over to her coat rack and takes her black leather vest. "Let's go."

They quickly exit the office and head towards the elevator, Laurel's mind filled with the endless possibilities of how she is going to make Diaz suffer before killing him.

* * *

 _Jab, cross, then switch kick._ William performs the combo in his mind, demonstrating good technique, power, and speed.

 _Now move right while chambering arm from face to hip for a quick punch._ His thinking before doing helps his mind stay tactical, allowing for adaption out on the field. That's how his mentor taught him, and it hasn't failed him so far.

"You think you should be taking it easy after what happened a couple days ago?"

The voice of John doesn't take William's attention from the bag.

"This is me taking it easy."

William finishes with a cross, jab, then a low kick followed by a roundhouse with his right leg. He walks over to the table next to him and grabs a towel to wipe the sweat off his face and upper body.

"Your dad says hi, by the way."

"I thought he would." He puts on his undershirt before meeting John at the computer. "You didn't tell him about Felicity's actions this past month, did you?"

"No. Better not to trouble Oliver with knowing that she is willing to go to extreme measures to stop Diaz."

"Good. Thanks for that."

"No problem. So, what lead do you have on Diaz?"

William puts his hand on the computer mouse and opens a file showing a digitized map along with red dots with dates next to them. "Well, you remember what I told you and Lyla about Felicity interrogating the Silencer?"

"And placing a tracker inside her belt. Yeah, I remember."

"Well, after we saved Dad, I've been retracing the tracker's steps. One location it stopped at was Moscow."

John looks closer at the red dot over the image of Russia, the date next to it being only a couple of days ago.

"Why would Diaz go to Russia?"

"I can think of only one reason. Revenge."

"Anatoly." John looks to the screen then back to William, not looking surprised by this, but him looking back at the computer does show concern. "We have to save him then. I can get a couple of ARGUS—"

"It's already too late. The tracker left Russia and came back to Star City." William zooms in on the red dot in Star City, showing a more accurate location. "The tracker stops here. It's a munitions plant just outside Orchid Bay. It happened just a couple of minutes ago, so chances are that Diaz may not be there anymore."

"But clues to what he wanted from there may be. But he may have also laid a trap."

"I know, so I called Dinah and diverted all police activity from the area. She and the others will be there for backup."

"Great. If Diaz is there, then the chance of us along with Rene and Dinah catching him is more assured."

"Not just them." William is hesitant to say this, knowing that John will not be on board. He knows he wasn't, but she was being stubborn about it. "Felicity insisted that she and Laurel came along for this one."

Before John can argue about how foolish it is, William says, "And yes, I tried to at least talk Felicity out of it, but she kept saying that she wants to see Diaz taken down personally. Nothing I said dissuaded her. I'm sorry John, but we're going to have to deal with it."

John crosses his arms and breathes a heavy sigh. "Will you be watching her?"

"I'll be protecting her with my life John. Trust me."

After a while, he uncrosses his arms and nods his head. "Okay. You got your suit?"

William points to the pants he is wearing. "Wearing the bottom half right now. Just need the top."

"Get it then and let's go. Curtis is waiting outside in the portable base."

William goes over to the case and puts on the suit, mask, bow and quiver before they walk out of the hideout to go to the Munitions Plant.

* * *

As Felicity and Laurel walk beside the fence that blocks the way to the munitions building, Felicity couldn't help but ask, "Why do bad guys always pick the creepiest places?"

After a moment without an answer, Laurel looks to her with a bit of surprise. "Wait, you were actually asking me that?"

"Well, given that you were an ex-villain, I thought you would—"

"Well, this doesn't look like D.A. business."

The sarcastic voice of Rene forces them to turn around. No one else is there besides him.

Laurel points to him but turns to Felicity with a frown. "What is he doing here?"

"Oh right. I forgot to tell you that Team Arrow is back together. Well, not together-together. Just temporarily back together to stop Diaz."

"I don't need his help or anyone else's."

Rene makes another sarcastic remark. "Oh yeah, you most certainly don't need my help against them, especially the Silencer who can reduce you're Canary Cry into a breeze in the wind."

Seeing that the tension between them is getting worse, Felicity intervenes, "Guys! Our focus should be on Diaz, not each other."

Laurel, who was about to walk over to Rene and probably throw a punch, takes a step back, but retains the frown. Rene just puts his hands up casually, saying that he meant no harm with the remarks.

"But wait. Where is W—" Felicity almost chokes on her words, remembering that Laurel is still not completely in the know. "The Green Arrow? I thought he would be here by now."

"I got a couple of texts from John. He says they're on their way now and to go ahead and scout out the place without them."

Felicity is a bit confused. "Really? I thought John would want us to stay put first and wait up."

Rene shrugs his shoulders. "It's what he said. I'll go in and tell you what I find."

Rene starts to walk, but Laurel gets in the way. "I am not going to stay out here while Diaz might be in there ready to escape."

"Me neither."

Rene turns to Felicity and shakes his head. "I don't think that's such a—"

"You said we needed to scout ahead. That's what we're going to do. If things get intense, I'll make my way outside."

Rene taps his foot and breathes a heavy sigh. "Fine, but you stay close."

Felicity nods. "Okay."

"Good." Rene takes out his pistol. "Follow me."

Rene leads the way. Felicity sticks close while Laurel lags just a bit behind, which is not surprising. Felicity also turns on her tablet, seeing that the tracker still hasn't left the plant. Maybe Diaz is still inside, or at least one of the Longbow Hunters. Still, with the ambition doesn't suppress the one thing still running through her mind: _Why would John want us to scout ahead? That's just not him. Right?_

* * *

John parks the Portable Base right next to what looks like Laurel Lance's.

"We're here. Curtis, stay here."

Curtis, who is at the computer, gives a thumbs up. "Got it."

When William and John walk out, he walks to the car and examines it. He looks for anything that he recognizes from his recon of her office building to be sure it is. He then sees, on the dash, a photo of the now deceased Quentin Lance with Earth-1 Laurel.

"This is Laurel Lance's car. She must've given Felicity a ride."

As he said this, Dinah's car pulls up next to John's. She gets out and walks to them.

"Hey. Everyone else here yet?"

John nodded. "I just texted Rene and told him we were on the way. We should be meeting him…"

William stops listening as he scopes out the area, seeing Rene, Felicity, and Laurel enter the Munitions Plant.

"Uh, John? They just went in."

John turns around and runs to where William is, just seeing the door close.

"Why would they—"

John goes to his phone, probably to see if Rene sent any indication that they would do this. William peeks at it, seeing that John sent another text telling Rene to go in and scout ahead.

"Wait a minute, I never sent this." John and William saw something else that confused them even more. "Wait, I'm getting no bars out here. I was getting good reception before."

"So was I." Dinah points to her phone, indicating that her service is dead too.

Curtis walks out of the portable base quickly. "John, I don't mean to alarm you, but I have absolutely no connections to any ARGUS satellites or to William's."

"How can that be possible unless…" William's eyes widen in horror as he realizes what is happening. "Unless your phones have been hacked and everything is being jammed by the same code popping up again and again." He looks to the Plant, his fears quickly rising. "They're walking into a trap! Come on!"

William starts to run to the plant with John and Dinah trying to catch up to him.

John shouts back to Curtis, "Stay there and see if you can find out where the signal's coming from!"

 _Please God, let us reach them in time._

* * *

As they go into the large room where the tracker is, they find nobody here. Just a lot of containers spread out across the room. Still, the tracker indicates that the Silencer, or at least her belt, are ahead.

Rene takes the lead, keeping a gun aimed so that they aren't surprised by anything. As they reach the tracker's location, they see a container, but still no Silencer. She's probably in there, waiting to ambush them. Rene takes position on the left side of the container and signals Laurel to take the right. Both of them place a hand on the container and Rene starts to silently count numbers. When he reaches three, they remove the container and inside it is…

 _Anatoly?!_

Anatoly looks at them with horror, Felicity thinks. But she's too confused and surprised to figure that out. She tries to say his name, but her voice makes no sound, which means one thing. She looks around for the Silencer, but sees…

 _Wait. Is that William, John, and Dinah?_

She sees them running their way, looking like they are yelling something, but no sound emanates.

 _Why can't I find…wait. Could she have possibly…_

She looks to the container, seeing the Silencer's belt at Anatoly's feet. She takes it and switches it off. As soon as she does, multiple voices start to overwhelm the room.

She raises her hands up to William, John, and Dinah. "Hold up! What are you trying to say?"

"Bomb!"

What Rene said diverts her attention, seeing a bomb with a timer that is down to 35 seconds right next to Anatoly.

John yells, "Everybody out! Now!"

The others start to run away. William, however, runs to Anatoly and helps him up. Felicity runs up and helps him to, putting Anatoly's arm around her shoulders as William is doing.

"You got him Felicity?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, now go. Go!"

The three of them start to run for the exit as fast as they can. As they do, Felicity counts the amount of time they have left, which makes her heart race just thinking about it. When she reaches what she thinks is 5 seconds left, they make it through the door and get as far from the plant as possible.

When the number in her head reaches 0, the explosion starts to thunder out of the plant, the force of it close enough to them that it forces them to fall to the ground. William, Felicity, and Anatoly look back at the plant, seeing the flames roaring out of the windows and the door they just exited.

Felicity's mind, now shaken from almost being caught in the blast, is just thinking of how lucky they all were that no one was killed. As she starts to calm down, she realizes that all of this was no coincidence. Diaz wanted all of them to be here. He tried to kill them all in one stroke.

* * *

Lyla paces back and forth impatiently, her mind preoccupied with the news about the explosion at the Munitions Plant.

 _I can't believe it. How could this have happened? If we had just stationed people there, I—_

Her thoughts are interrupted when he sees the others coming into view of the briefing room's glass door. She breathes a sigh of relief, seeing that most of them unharmed. Anatoly, however, looked scarred and bruised with a couple of burn marks on the back of his hands.

Lyla quickly rushes to John and hugs him. "Oh John! I heard about the explosion. Are you all okay?"

John hugs back, his hand gently stroking her back. "I'm fine. We all are."

Lyla then breaks the hug, turning her attention to the people who are now making a small circle in the room. "What the hell happened out there?!"

"The Silencer." Everyone's attention turns to William. "She must've found Felicity's tracker and lured us into a trap."

"Hey, uh, Green Arrow?" Felicity looks at William with concern. "I think you shouldn't tell them about—"

John interrupts. "Green Arrow told us that you put a tracker inside the Silencer's belt."

Felicity's concern turned to frustration. "You told them about the tracker?"

"I had to eventually."

Dinah, looking as confused as the others who don't know are, intervenes. "You captured the Silencer? You weren't near her."

"No…" Rene raises his hand slightly, slowly and begrudgingly telling the truth told to Lyla and Diggle by William. "…But I was when we were at the CDC." Dinah scowls at Rene. He put his hands up, probably to stop her from giving a lecture. "But Laurel was the one helping Felicity torture her."

Laurel quickly defends herself. "Just so you know, I talked her out of it."

William points out, "When I stopped you from using your Canary Cry to injure her."

"Guys!" Curtis, who seems to sense the tension in the group that Lyla does, tries to stop the conversation from turning hot. "I think we are all on edge from everything that has happened this past month. We've had some unexpected surprises, didn't get the results we wanted, and yes, I am subtly referring to the fact that nobody remembered my Birthday last week."

Felicity, who is probably tired of everyone talking in circles, blurts out, "Your party's next week! Act surprised! Now, can we please get to the psychopath that tried to blow us up?!"

"We will. But first…" Lyla looks over to Laurel Lance. "Only people from this Earth can stay in this operation."

Laurel then gives a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding?"

"You are the D.A and a target for Diaz, not to mention the one leading the defense case for Oliver. You still need to be under protection. Letting you go to that plant was a risk."

Laurel looks around at all of them and lets out a scoff. "So, you'd let a Russian international mob boss and a wan bee vigilante in, but not me? Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."

Laurel heads out the door. Felicity follows, calling for her in a pleading voice.

"I need to go after them." William leaves without telling them why, but nobody stops him.

An awkward silence befell the room for a moment. Then, Curtis breaks it, asking, "Are you guys really planning my—"

Both Dinah and John say in unison, "Yes."

Curtis just says, "Okay, okay," and stays silent.

* * *

As William walks down the empty corridor heading to the exit that leads to the lobby, he sheds his face mask and hood. He knows that John left this part of the building vacant since he, as the Green Arrow, would be reconvening here until further notice.

He spots Felicity stopping Laurel just as she is about to open the door. "Laurel, wait."

Laurel turns around and faces Felicity. "Will you stop? It seems clear that none of you need my help."

"That's where your wrong, Ms. Lance."

Laurel looks to William, not looking as surprised that William took off most of his face wear as Felicity is.

"So, you pick now to show me who you are?"

"Well, it seemed that showing my face to people I trust has been very beneficial so far."

"If you really trusted me, you would've let me stay on board."

As William gets close enough to Laurel, he gives a subtle glare. "Look, under different circumstances, I would've convinced the others to let you in. You know more about Diaz than anyone. But that is not where you're needed. Right now, you need to go back into court and do your job."

"I was more than willing to play little miss attorney when I had spare time. With Diaz out there, I don't."

"Wrong again. You need to go back, persecute Dr. Parker, and get my father out of jail."

Felicity becomes stunned after this, which is understandable. She obviously doesn't know why, but William knows that what he is doing is necessary.

Laurel, not getting it yet, still rants, "I'm not trying to save anyone's dad. I'm trying to get Oliver—"

She stops, her eyes becoming just a bit wide. She has not realized it yet, but she is at least onto something. She leans a bit closer to William's face. He doesn't say anything, for he knows she will come to the answer in time. After darting her eyes around every part of his face, her jaw drops. She has finally connected the pieces.

"Oh, no you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"You really expect me to believe that you're Oliver's kid from the future?"

"You're from another Earth, Laurel Lance. Time travel shouldn't be as much of a long shot from existing as the multiverse is."

"Well, Oliver's kid from the future or not, why should I still devote time that I could be using to hunt down Diaz?"

"Because you'll be hurting Diaz more than you know." Laurel eyes look as if brimming with curiosity. "The results are going to be televised. When Diaz hears that my dad is getting out of jail, that's when he becomes angry. That's when he becomes desperate to enact his plan and get out into the open. And THAT'S when we strike at him. He'll be vulnerable and when that happens, I promise you, you'll be there to help us take him down."

She looks at him still with curiousness in her eyes, probably contemplating on his words. After a little while, she smirks. "You sound just like him. Like Oliver. You really are his kid."

"So, you're going back to court?"

Laurel nods her head. "But only because it has a chance to hurt Diaz where it counts."

"I know it will."

Laurel exits through the door to the lobby. After a few seconds, Felicity lets out a sigh of relief.

"You are becoming a life saver, William."

"Hey guys." They turn around and see Rene and Dinah. "Dig says that they might have a lead on Diaz. He wants you guys in Curtis' office."

"You two aren't going to help?"

Rene shakes his head. "I have to get back home and get Zoe some dinner."

"And I have to get back to the precinct. But tell us what you find."

"Will do, Captain Drake."

Rene and Dinah walk past them and into the lobby.

Felicity starts to walk in the direction of Curtis' office, but William feels that he needs to ask her one quick thing. "Felicity, wait." She stops and turns to William. "After what we just went through…are you okay?"

"Well, I am unscathed, so—"

"I don't just mean physically. Coming out of a near death experience can have severe psychological—"

"William." She gives him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm fine. Really. Sure, it shook me up a bit, but stuff like that just flies by, you know. Are we good?"

William nods. "Yeah."

"Good. Let's go."

Felicity walks down the hall, her walk and the tone of her voice during the conversation they just had telling William that she seems to be telling her the truth. Still, as he follows her, he still has his doubts.

 _I hope you are…because I don't want to lose you or Dad again._

* * *

 _William placed his hands on the receptionist's desk and bowed his head. He tried to process the news John gave him, but it didn't sit right with him. He knew Felicity. She wasn't skilled in fighting, but she knew how to keep herself hidden and could always make a quick getaway. He would know since she hid herself from him for years. Still, a part of him couldn't help but believe it._

" _I can't believe she's gone."_

 _He felt a light pat on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Zoe. "We're sorry William."_

 _William gently shrugs Zoe's hand away, even though he appreciated the gesture, and turned to John. "Who was it, Mr. Diggle?"_

 _He shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that after the collapse, she wasn't the same. She began working with various criminal cells and started calling herself the Calculator."_

" _You mean like her father?"_

" _Yeah Roy. We haven't been in contact much. Last time was when I tried to convince her to join Knightwatch. She refused, saying that she had to work alone. I knew why, but she was moving into some dangerous territory, even for her."_

 _William took out the hozen from his pocket and looked at it and the cube. He casted aside all grief and thought rationally for a minute. He could tell something wasn't right._

" _What if she isn't dead?"_

 _They all looked at him with confusion._

" _Mr. Diggle, when was Felicity declared dead?"_

" _About a couple of week ago."_

 _He held up the hozen. "I got coordinates on this only a few days ago. The coordinates can change on their own, but they can't set themselves up. Someone would need to punch them in manually first and sending them can take a day or two. Given that Felicity was in trouble a couple of weeks ago and needed to hide, that means this hozen is—"_

 _John pointed at the hozen and finished, "A distress beacon. She wants our help."_

 _Roy held up his hands. "Hold on. Hold on. How do we know that's a fact? Felicity could've easily sent it before she died."_

" _Because I know how this kind of GPS tech works and I know Felicity. If she knew she would die, that meant she wouldn't want me to have the same fate. She would want me to stay away. She would've reached out to Mr. Diggle first."_

" _He's right. The last thing she would do is put William in harm's way if she knew that would be the cost. William. You said there were coordinates on the hozen. Have they updated?"_

 _William looked at the screen, seeing nothing on there but blackness. "No. There's nothing on here." He then looked at the holographic map and the red lines and blocks that represented the tunnels and bunkers. He then realized why they were sent to retrieve it. "Because the map is supposed to be the next clue." They gathered around it. "They must be Felicity's hiding places."_

 _Roy leaned away from it. "There are at least five of these things. How are we supposed to find the right one?"_

 _William stroked his chin as he examined the map. "I wonder…could this be an interactive map?" He placed a finger on the block, which then displayed a body of text. It described when the hiding place was discovered and when it was abandoned. He then pressed all of the blocks, all of them displaying text with the same properties._

 _He pointed to the one that had only the date of discovery. "There. It must be the one she had before her capture."_

 _Roy said skeptically, "If she was captured."_

" _Nevertheless…" John leaned away from the desk and confronted Roy. "We owe it to Felicity to at least find out what happened to her. Now, let's go get her back."_

* * *

"Meet Pioter Roslov." They all get a good look at the man's photo on Curtis' computer as he presents them with the information. Roslov looked to be middle aged with black hair that is combed back and is a bit over-weight. His attire gave him a distinguished look. "Former KGB turned black market dealer. Someone with a lot of scary ties to the military."

Felicity jokes, "Sounds like a real charmer."

"He is not." Anatoly looks at the photo, his voice filled with disgust. "Pioter and I once were once associates with the KGB, but we had…disagreement."

William, now wearing his Green Arrow face mask and hood again, looks at Anatoly, his arms crossed. "You said Diaz forced you to call him up. Why?"

"Diaz wanted to buy powerful weapon from him. He wants to destroy Oliver Queen by destroying what he loves, that being his city."

William nods his head. "His goal and probably the Ninth Circle's."

"The Ninth Circle is not involved with Diaz. Not anymore."

All of them look at Anatoly with surprise. William asks for them, "How do you know that?"

"Diaz wouldn't stop talking about how he was going to do what they could not. What they refused to do."

William tilts his head a little. "So, he's gone rogue?"

"That's what it seems like."

William puts his hands on his hips and contemplates for a moment, thinking why they haven't tried to stop him. _Besides, isn't it the Deacon's goal to destroy Star City? Maybe it is, but then why isn't Diaz supporting him? Or maybe…_

Dismissing the thought for now, he turns his attention back to Anatoly. "If that's so, then they won't interfere with us tracking him down. That's where you come in, Anatoly. You're going to meet with Roslov at his base of operations and you're getting us information on his transaction with Diaz."

Anatoly looks as if taken aback, raising his hands slightly in front of him. "Oh no. Pioter can smell rats a mile away."

John assures, "We can protect you."

"I try to be hero once, and Diaz killed many of my brothers."

Felicity steps in with, "Oliver was your brother. He sacrificed a lot for you and for this city."

"And look where that got him. I will not be involved. Maybe I will head to someplace warm. Maldives maybe."

He starts to head for the office door, but Felicity quickly says, "It might be hard for you to go anywhere with your name on Homeland Security's Most Wanted List."

"Yes, but I am on no such—" Anatoly stops and turns around. The stare he gives Felicity seems to convey curiosity, but William betted it was more akin to dread. "You are threatening me?"

"Call it an enthusiastic incentive. You get in there for 5 minutes, get us that data, and get out."

Anatoly walks up to Felicity, William expecting an anger fueled argument. Instead, Anatoly raises an eyebrow and says, "You are not Felicity Smoak I remember."

"That Felicity couldn't stop Diaz. Maybe this one can."

William wants to tell her that what she did was the opposite of what she should've done but found that it was a necessary one. He most likely would've done the same since no other options were present. Still, he would need to argue about her dark behavior later. Right now, they have a mission to do.

* * *

It is close to dinnertime at the prison. Oliver looks at the photo of William and Felicity and starts to picture older William in it. He starts to wonder what he will be like in their lives once Diaz has been taken down. Will he be here permanently? Can he even stay in 2019 and beyond longer than he already has?

As his eyes fall onto Felicity's image, he starts to get a weird feeling. He feels like he has seen her just recently. Not just in the photo and not just when she visited prison, but just a couple of days ago.

 _That can't be possible. The only people I've seen over the last couple of days were William, Talia, John, Dinah, and—_

He then starts to remember the blonde woman who helped them pinpoint where the information on Level 2 was. He remembers the first time seeing her face, that it somehow looked familiar, yet he had never seen her before Level 2. He looks at Felicity's image again, trying to imagine the woman in her place. There were a couple of differences in facial structure, but the similarities were remarkable. Unbelievable.

 _Can she be-_

"Let's go inmate."

Oliver lowers the photo, seeing one guard in view to the right of his cell. A guard escorting someone is normal, but the guard's voice is coming from Stanley's cell, who is usually left alone.

Oliver can hear the confusion in Stanley's voice as he asks, "What are you talking about?"

"You're going into the hole. Come on."

Oliver sets the photo aside and rushes to the cell bars. He sees the armored guards drag a terrified Stanley away as he struggles to get free. He then notices Oliver.

"Oliver! Help! Whatever they think I did, they're wrong! It must've been Brick. He set me up. Help me!"

The guards left quickly before Oliver could ask why Stanley was being taken to the hole. The other prisoners who looked on smirked and laughed as if he had this coming. This must've been something only Oliver wasn't made aware of. But he does have a lead. Brick.

* * *

The instant he enters the cafeteria, Oliver goes to Brick's table. As he gets there, Brick notices and smirks.

"So, back from the looney bin, eh? I trust they did a thorough job on you?"

Sampson smirks as well, saying, "Yeah. Maybe those doctors got your head on straight."

Turner doesn't join in. He just sits with his hands clasped together and listens.

Oliver looks at all of them with a glare. "What did you do?"

Brick leans back from his tray and puts his hand on the table, saying almost sarcastically, "Why, I haven't the faintest idea what you're on about."

"Stanley was hauled away to the hole about 2 minutes ago for whatever you framed him for."

"Ah. You haven't heard." Brick leans in with his arms parallel to each other on the table. "Our dear guard Dunbar was found in the prison showers…dead." This news kind of surprised Oliver, given that he hasn't heard about it. "Stabbed 8 times, or so I've been told. And your friend was the last one to see him alive."

"Stanley would never do something like that. You must've—"

"My boys and I weren't in the showers the same time as Dunbar. You'd know that since you were there."

"You still have the motive." Oliver then points to Turner. "And he wasn't with us at the time."

Turner immediately stands up. "Now don't you go there, Queen. What would I get for killing him?"

"Probably respect from him."

He points to Brick, who scoffs at the statement. "I wouldn't care if the prick lived or died. He was more of a nuisance than anything else." He stands up calmly and leans towards queen, his hands on the table. "Face it, Queen. You know deep down that we didn't do it and you have no evidence to prove otherwise. Even if your friend didn't do it, he's going to rot in the hole. I guarantee you that." He then sits down. "Now, if there's nothing else, leave us to our grub."

Oliver leaves them in frustration to get his lunch before it stopped being served. He may not have evidence yet, but he will find it and wipe the smirks off their faces. He already knows where to look, but not today. Tomorrow, he will start investigating the prison showers.

* * *

As William completes his ascension to the roof, he sees the hatch that Curtis pointed out when going over the infiltration plan. He silently walks to it and slowly pulls off one side at a time. He then grips it and gently pulls the hatch away, setting it to the side.

Before he goes in, he turns around and sees the limo right on schedule. The limo door opens and out comes Anatoly in the formal suit given to him by John. William can tell from the way that Anatoly is fiddling with his tie and his deep breath before walking away that he is nervous. Still, He walks up to the man at the door with a cool enough head and says, in his native tongue, **"*Tell your boss that his old friend, the KG Beast, is here to see him.*"**

 _KG Beast? Peculiar name._

Taking this as an opportunity to position himself where he needs to be, he heads inside, sticking to the side of the ceiling as he traversed. He looks down at the ground floor, getting a good idea of what he is dealing with.

 _The area is a warehouse. Shelves divide the middle area into aisles, one guard each patrolling them. The corner coming up has a desk with a computer with the information we need. From this vantage point, I can pick off any of Roslov's men that go for Anatoly._

From his comm, he hears another Russian voice speaking in the tongue. **"*Anatoly. The balls on you…to come here after all this time. I am very sorry about what happened to your loyal brothers of the Bratva. Come, let us drink to their memory.*"**

 _Roslov._

" **Green Arrow, come in. Have you reached the vantage point?"**

"In position John. I can see the computer from here. Overwatch, what's Anatoly's status?"

" **He's walking in now. Roslov is leading him in."**

William sees them coming into view from the farthest aisle from him and heading to the desk.

" ***I know you must have apprehensions about me for dealing with the Dragon, especially since he forced you to set up the meeting.*"**

" ***Not at all. Business is business.*"**

" ***Speaking of, maybe I can interest you in a 4K TV, or maybe Serine gas. They fell of a truck, I swear.*"**

Anatoly grins at Roslov's sarcasm.

As they reach the desk, Roslov extends a hand to the nearby chair. **"*Here. Sit.*"**

Anatoly sits down while Roslov takes out a bottle of Vodka and two glasses. As he sets them down, Anatoly says, **"*Hard rocks. Please.*"**

Roslov nods. **"*Of course.*"**

Roslov turns back and walks away from the desk. With him distracted, Anatoly takes the opportunity to quickly insert the drive into the USB port. He then sits down, trying to act natural.

Unfortunately, he still must've attracted attention. Actually, it looked more like a setup, for all of the guards who were patrolling the aisles are now slowly heading towards Anatoly.

William quickly gets on the line to Felicity and John. "Guys, Anatoly has company."

" **Copy that. We'll pull him out."**

" **No, we can't. The drive needs at least a minute to pull the data."**

"I know. John, get into position at the 3rd aisle from Roslov's desk. and be ready to take the heat off of us. I'll get in touch with Anatoly."

" **On my way."**

William then patches into Anatoly. "Anatoly, listen to me. In less than a minute, chaos is about to break loose. I need you to stay calm and don't break your cover."

" **What kind of plan is—*you must forgive my abrupt visit, Pioter.*"** Roslov comes back with the item Anatoly asked for. Anatoly stands up and walks somewhat nervously to him, putting up an equally nervous grin. **"*The loss of my brothers has made me realize what I lost when we broke our friendship years ago. I have come to heal old wounds*."**

Roslov places the glass with hard rocks on the desk almost aggressively. He then looks at Anatoly in a way that seems unnerving, for Anatoly has trouble making eye contact.

" **A snake that sheds it's skin…is still a snake."**

 _Anatoly's made, now being surrounded. Shoot out light above then use smoke arrow to draw attention away from him._

William quickly draws an arrow and shoots it at the light above him and the others. It makes everyone panic except Anatoly, who quickly takes the drive from the computer, but is quickly grabbed by Roslov. Before he can lay a finger on Anatoly, the sounds of gunshots are heard from the third to last aisle, where John is supposed to be by now.

With John grabbing their attention, William shoots a smoke arrow at the desk, making everyone go into a coughing fit. He can see Anatoly, even when blinded by the smoke, take the opportunity to break free of Roslov's grip and run sluggishly from the area. Roslov chases after him at almost the same pace.

William then looks to John, who is running to the crowd of armed but incapacitated thugs, taking them down one by one with ease. Seeing that he has the situation handled, he gets down to ground level with a grapple arrow and runs to Anatoly's aid.

He follows them to the end of the second aisle ahead, both of them wrestling for the gun. Unfortunately, Roslov is the victor, taking the gun and hitting Anatoly with a hammer fist strike hard enough to knock Anatoly unconscious.

 _Quickly disarm._

William quickly takes out an arrow and shoots it at Roslov's hand, the pain forcing him to let go of the gun. He then turns to William, snarling as he slowly walks towards him, his uninjured fist clenched.

 _He'll go for a jab or hook. Block or catch it, clench wrist, punch, then follow it up with throw then neutralize._

As expected, Roslov tries to employ a hook punch to the face. William quickly shoots up his arm and shifts himself in its direction to block Roslov's attack and then grabs the wrist. He employs a boxing punch to the face, which disorients Roslov for a moment. Using this brief window, William grips the clenched arm with both hands, turns around and kneels, his momentum allowing him to easily throw Roslov down to the floor. Finally, William punches Roslov in the face, ensuring that he stays down.

With Roslov unconscious, William gets up and runs to Anatoly, who is still unconscious. He checks for a pulse, feeling a slow yet steady rythm.

"Anatoly's alive."

" **What about the drive?"**

William checks the pocket Anatoly put the drive in as he escaped, finding the USB still in good shape.

"It's intact."

John rushes in, seeing Anatoly's condition. He proceeds to pick him up carefully. "ARGUS agents are on their way. We need to get him a medic."

Both of them start to rush out of the facility with Anatoly in tow. As they run out, William can't help but contemplate if Felicity coercing Anatoly to help was the only way to get the intel they needed.

* * *

 _Okay, looks like the data's encrypted and in Cyrillic. Maybe I can decrypt it faster if I—_

The sound of the office door takes her attention away from the computer. She sees William, who probably just came from the hospital wing.

"Hey. How's Anatoly?"

"He'll be out cold for a few hours, probably the entire night, but he'll live. Where's Curtis?"

"Out for a snack. Listen. I'm making good progress on—"Felicity pauses for a moment, seeing William display a look of concern towards her. "You don't look happy. I thought you would be glad to get this."

"I am, but…" William lets out a sigh, not knowing how else to say this. "Felicity, after the warehouse, I went through every other scenario that we could've done as an alternative. I will not deny that what we went with was the one that had the strongest possibility of us getting the data, but Anatoly almost died out on the field to get it."

"Yeah, I know, and I am sorry that he almost did. But we all make risks out in the field. Right?"

"You're right. We do. But Anatoly didn't volunteer to go out there. You coerced him. I had to make a last-minute plan to save him."

"He needed the nudge and we needed that data."

"Which we probably could've gotten on our own."

"Which you said had the least likely outcomes of success."

"Only by about 5-10% compared to what happened Felicity." William walks over to Felicity's desk. "I have to know one thing. Are you doing all of this to catch Diaz or to kill him?"

Felicity froze for a few seconds at the information William knows. She tries to keep her cool, but knows that William, like his father, can read her easily.

"And…how exactly can you prove an accusation like that, because, you know, a lot of evidence is circum—"

William quickly takes out his phone and taps one of the time camera recordings. It shows Laurel's office, dating back to a couple of days ago when Felicity handed the Level 2 evidence to Laurel and they talked afterwards.

After seeing it, she shoots up from her desk. "You've been spying on me?"

"I was keeping an eye on Laurel, whom you've been visiting because she's the morally ambiguous one. How do you think I knew where you kept the Silencer?"

"Well, how come you're lecturing me on this now?"

"Because after what happened with the Silencer, I trusted you to make the right call. I thought you would've thought long and hard—"

"I DID! I thought long and hard about it and do you know what I've realized?! I realized that Diaz is never going to stop hunting us down. He will send assassin after assassin after assassin until all of us ARE DEAD."

"He can't do that from jail."

"He probably can. You saw how corrupt Slabside is. What are the chances he'll end up there or someplace worse? There is only one way to make sure we stay safe. We end him. Permanently."

"That's not the answer Felicity."

"Why? Give me one good reason. Besides whatever the bible or any other moral code says about it."

"For one, choices like what you want to make have consequences. Just look at Adrian Chase. Dad killed his father and he, in turn, went on a quest for revenge that costed my mother's life."

"This is different. There are no strings attached to Diaz. He has no one who will want revenge for—"

"AND SECOND…" He waits for a moment, seeing if Felicity will listen to what he has to say. "…Killing a person means crossing a line. Many have crossed it and only some EVER cross back. Dad may have been lucky, but others aren't. They turn into murderers, psychopaths, tyrants."

"Oh, and you're telling me you've crossed the line?"

"No. But I was close too. The first time, I was face to face with a psychopath. I could've killed him, but I didn't because if I did, that choice would've forever haunted me, and it will haunt you too. Believe me."

Felicity doesn't say anything for a while, but her breathing becomes slightly heavy and her eyes start to shimmer with tears.

"I had to divert a nuke to a small town just so millions of others wouldn't die. Only one person survived and I had to tell him the hard truth because their deaths kept torturing me. And they still do!" Felicity's holds in the tears, but her voice cracks under her depression. "Don't think that I…that I don't know what that feels like."

William nods. "I know. You have your share of burdens and you still carry them with you. As Jesus asked us to take up our crosses to follow him to God. Our trials, tribulations, burdens. Those things that weigh us down as a reminder to be better people. Don't think that you have an excuse to kill someone because you've done something once before in a different context. Otherwise, you'll be no better than Diaz."

William then takes out something and puts it on Felicity's desk. She is surprised when she sees the hozen.

"Why?"

"You said that it was a symbol of reconnecting. I'm giving this to you so that when all of this is over, we can finally have a chance to do so. Now, I have to go. Dinah called me saying that she wants to take me to the courthouse tomorrow for Parker's prosecution and Dad's possible release."

He turns around and heads for the door. Felicity doesn't stop him, not knowing what else to say at this point. Before he opens the door, he turns around one last time.

"Think on what I have said Felicity. I don't want to see you become the villain. Not now."

William then exits the room. Felicity picks up the hozen and fiddles with it in her fingers. She can't help but remember the innocent little boy that she had to let go of twice. And now she realizes that she is pushing him away.

She lets at least one tear fall, and it lands on the hozen's markings.

* * *

The next morning, as they are being escorted to the Mess Hall, Oliver puts his plan into action. He takes the makeshift slingshot he made a while back and shoots a pebble at the prisoner farthest in line. As expected, the prisoner gets aggravated, blames the prisoner behind him and gets into a fight. As the guard leading them tries to break it up, Oliver, who is at the back of the line, sneaks away and heads towards the prison showers.

Once inside, he looks for anything out of the ordinary where Dunbar died. He checks for places to conceal weapons in the drains, the shower heads, and any possible loose floor tile. So far, nothing.

 _There must be someplace they would hide—_

As he looks up from the floor, he notices something on the corner wall. He sees a tile that looks out of place from the rest. It seems to be loose. He walks to it and examines it further.

 _This looks like it can be removed._

He pulls the tile away, finding a hollowed-out space. He sees what looks like a shiv, one that Turner usually uses, hiding in the dark. He places his finger in the ring and slowly pulls it towards him, being careful as to not get his prints on there. When it gets close to the light, he finds the blade caked in recently dried blood.

Oliver smirks. _Got you now, Turner._

* * *

Felicity still tries to come up with what to say to Anatoly as she nears his room. She guesses that he is most likely angry for putting him in that tight situation and will yell at her if she says anything wrong. In fact, she doesn't know if apologizing right now is the best choice. But, after a bit of deliberation, she realizes that William is right. She risked Anatoly's life and now she regrets it. Apologizing, at least, will ease her guilty conscience.

As she passes the windows that give a view of Anatoly in his bed, a doctor walks out. She steps inside as Anatoly buttons up the blue vest given to him.

"Hey. I heard you were up. How are you feeling?"

"Well, heart is beating in chest. Each beat, POW, like knife to brain."

"I'm sorry about that. I should've gotten you out of there sooner."

Anatoly starts to swing his legs around to the side of the bed but keeps his eyes on her. She finds it hard to know how he feels towards her, but there's no sign of anger. At least, not yet.

"So, you are not new Felicity Smoak after all."

Felicity is surprised by Anatoly's response, but also confused. "What do you mean?"

"You want to be ruthless, catch mad man, I won't judge you. I am, after all, a wanted criminal."

"I thought you would be more pissed that I almost got you killed."

"Of course, I'm angry. You threaten my life. But I don't like apologies. You cannot take away mistake by making it so. In my line of work, you make choice…" He points and moves his finger forward. "…Never look back."

"Ah." Felicity crosses her arms. "So, you don't regret working with Diaz against us last year?"

Anatoly sighs. "My regrets, guilt. These are demons that you live with. A trade you make to get what you want." He looks Felicity dead in the eyes. "How badly do you want to kill Ricardo Diaz?"

She knows William or anyone else wouldn't approve of what she was going to say, but she guesses that Anatoly can see through lies. She honestly says, "More than anything."

"Well, then you embrace demons. No more half measures. When I work with Oliver in Russia, he not villain, but he did what needed to be done. You remind me of him from then."

A new question pops into her head, but she deliberates if it is wise to ask. She knows that if any of the others were here, they would tell her to walk away from the conversation right now. But she wants to know. She must know. "What would that Oliver have done in this situation?"

"He would have ended Diaz…and he wouldn't care about the cost."

Just then, an idea springs in Felicity's head. How Anatoly describes past Oliver is unlike…

 _Unlike Diaz!_

She walks out of the room quickly and heads back to Curtis' office, believing that she may know Diaz's target.

As she gets farther from the room, the last thing she hears from Anatoly is, "Nice talking with you."

* * *

William and Dinah walk down the silent corridor of the courthouse, whose doors on each side lead to a different courtroom where different cases are being presented.

"Thanks again for taking me. I don't exactly have a breach beacon here."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to miss the verdict on your father. That is, if Laurel doesn't mess it up."

"She'll pull it off. Have a little faith."

"Here we are."

William opens the door and allows Dinah to go into the courtroom first. Since this is more or less a private federal hearing, only certain individuals are allowed in. But a police captain with one other, especially one who is helping out with the case, can be allowed in.

As they enter, they see Lyla Diggle, or Director Michaels as she is usually called, sitting in one of the benches. She notices them come in and makes room for them as they come over and sit down.

"How are things proceeding, Mrs. Diggle?"

"Laurel presented the evidence and now we are reaching the end of a recess that will determine your father's fate."

Dinah asks, "How was she up there?"

Lyla turns to her. "You're actually concerned?"

"Just tell me."

"Well, she acted professionally and almost with a passion. If this goes right, we might just hit it off."

"Did you present your case, Mrs. Diggle?"

"I did, along with the new developments from last night. Parker will no doubt be found guilty but whether this saves your father is up to the judge."

"What new developments?"

Lyla looks to William with a curious stare. "You didn't tell her?"

"I was going to after the proceedings."

"Guys, what new developments?"

Lyla explains, "We went to the houses of all the guards involved in Level 2. They were all found dead in their homes."

Dinah's eyes widen in shock. "Dead?"

"We believe that the Ninth Circle were covering their tracks but did so sloppily. Whoever killed them hid them in yards that were not covered well enough. I contacted William here and we decided on a plan. Since we can't question them, we can use the dead bodies as evidence—"

"To convince the judge that anyone involved in Level 2, even prisoners, aren't safe."

Lyla nods. "The evidence has already been presented, so all we need to do is wait."

Suddenly, the sound of a gavel is heard banging on a surface. They all turn their attention to the front of the room, where the judge now sits on her chair.

"Court is now back in session. Ms. Lance, Dr. Parker. Please stand."

Both people stand up, Laurel on the right and Dr. Parker on the left.

"After much deliberation, I find Dr. Parker guilty of all charges brought against him. He is to be sent to a Max Security Prison and is sentenced to a lifetime in jail. Officer, take him away."

The Officer residing in the corner walks up to Dr. Parker, forces him up, and handcuffs him. As they go, Dr. Parker turns to where Lyla, Dinah, and William are sitting. He glares at them, possibly just at Lyla and Dinah, for putting him in this predicament. Little did he know that he was also glaring at the vigilante who found evidence on him first.

"Now, on to the next matter." She looks at Laurel. While she puts up a neutral stare, William can see the tells. The judge is very subtly sighing, slightly clenching her gavel as if bracing herself for what she is about to say, and her eyes dart at Laurel and Mrs. Diggle. He has a good idea of how this will go.

"Ms. Lance, I understand why you would want to see Mr. Queen free. But he is a vigilante. All must obey the law. They apply to everyone. He should not be a special case."

William can see Laurel clench her fist, already not liking what the judge is saying.

"But…after Director Michael's testimony and the evidence presented, especially of the death of all the security involved in this Level 2 project, I have concluded that the safest course of action is to move everyone out of harm's way. Tomorrow morning, all prisoners involved in the Level 2 incident, including Oliver Queen, are to be moved to ARGUS' facility. What happens afterwards is up to them. Court is adjourned."

As the judge slams the gavel, William can see Laurel lean forward and use her arms as supports, breathing a sigh of relief. Lyla and Dinah are in glee, their smiles resonating with gladness over the outcome. As Laurel turns around, William smirks and nods at her, letting her know that he believed in her. Lyla and Dinah do the same, getting at least a small smile from Laurel.

William then turns to Dinah. "We need to go."

William and Dinah take off quickly to the parking lot. As they head to the exit, William shoots a text to Laurel, saying _"Left you something at your office that will come in handy when Diaz shows himself. Will give you more details as things develop. Be ready."_

* * *

" _This way."_

 _John held the door for William, Zoe, and Roy. William and Zoe took the lead this time with Roy and John following behind._

 _They walked down yet another empty hallway, which would lead one to believe that nothing of value lied ahead. Either that, or some cliched horror movie monster. But this was the right way according to the cube in William's hand._

" _We're getting close."_

 _As William put the cube back in his pocket, Zoe spoke up. "How long has it been? 21 years?"_

" _Yep."_

" _Where have you been all this time?"_

" _Classified."_

" _Are you going to end all your sentences in one word?"_

" _Do you want me to say more?"_

 _Zoe smiled. "All these years and you're still the boy that hated not knowing everything. Yet now, you don't let anyone else know anything about you."_

" _Well, those are requirements when you're the head of one of the leading tech companies, among other things. How about you? Has hanging out with Knightwatch change you from the girl always seeking trouble?"_

" _Not a chance." There is a moment's pause between them. William couldn't tell if she was considering her next words or if she was shy to say them. She hid her intensions well as if she had to hide her emotions before._

 _Eventually, she said, "I am glad to see you again."_

 _William smiles. "You too."_

 _Eventually, they saw a doorway that leads to a set of stairs._

 _William looked to John and Roy, who were having a conversation. "We found a stairway here. I'm gonna scout ahead." He then turns to Zoe. "Wait here with them. I'll call you when it looks safe."_

 _Zoe nodded. "Be careful."_

 _William then walked down the stairs. As he did, he muted his comm and activated the secondary one-way channel connected to the bug he planted on John to record the conversation William saw between him and Roy._

" _ **Look at them John. They're about the age we were when we became vigilantes."**_

" _ **Yeah. Look at us now. Old. Somewhat broken. But still, wee have wisdom. You know, I thought you'd never come back."**_

" _ **I almost didn't."**_

" _ **What convinced you then? William?"**_

" _ **It was what we found. The bow that belonged to Oliver, the one William is using, had a piece of paper in it."**_

" _ **What was on it?"**_

" _ **The Mark of Four."**_

" _ **Seriously? Did Felicity put that there?"**_

" _ **I don't know."**_

" _ **We found a—"**_

 _William turned it off when he heard his voice and set his bot to discreetly move away from John before destroying itself. Their conversation now left a new question._

" _Mark of Four?"_

 _He reached the end of the stairs. so far, no traps had been laid. Ahead of him was a large room. That must've been the bunker._

 _He called out, "Come on down guys!"_

* * *

John enters Curtis' office and finds him looking at his computer, mumbling to himself.

"Curtis."

Curtis looks away from his computer with an smile. "Good. You're here. Felicity had this brilliant idea of tacking on a Cyrillic dictionary to attack the table hash passwords. Roslov's password was not brilliant, however. His passwords are the equivalent of password69."

"What'd you find?"

Curtis opens up a minimized window, displaying what looks like a bomb in the shape of a drill. The title on the corner of it says "BETA **B** -500."

John recognizes it instantly. "This is a top of the line aerial explosive with razor precision. Able to cut through concrete like nothing. Anything else we can go on?"

"Well, this model can attach to pipes, which probably lists sewers or factories. But Diaz bought two of them, so our list of targets doubled."

"Probably not." They turn their attention from the computer and see Felicity, who they didn't hear come in. "I was just talking to Anatoly and I realized something. I haven't been caring about the cost of what I've been doing, but Diaz does. It's his whole MO. He's not one for subtlety. So, I thought about his flamethrower. What if Diaz doesn't carry that around as just a weapon, but a statement?"

Curtis taps the top of his head with his finger, still looking at Felicity. "You're saying that he's giving out his target." His expression changes and he points to Felicity. "One that supplies something that is all over Star City from a single source! Something Flammable!"

"Exactly Curtis. What is the one flammable thing that is running through most of the city right now?"

Curtis begins to search something on the web until bringing up a picture of…

 _Oh god._ John's eyes widen in fear."Natural gas. The plant."

Felicity nods. "That's where he'll set off the bombs. I know it."

Suddenly, John's phone begins to ring. He takes it out and sees William's caller ID displayed as "Connor Hawke," given to him yesterday as a formality from Lyla. He answers it and asks, "Yeah, William?"

" **Check out Channel 52 now."**

"Why?

" **Just do it and put me on speakerphone."**

"Curtis, check Channel 52 News."

"Got it."

As John presses the speaker button, Curtis brings up a Channel 52 News Livestream on their website that has aired just a few seconds ago, according to the timer on the button. Felicity quickly walks over to see the broadcast.

" **Breaking News from Federal Court: In a surprising twist of events, the case of D.A Lance vs Slabside has turned in the D.A's favor. At least a dozen prisoners will be on their way to ARGUS Headquarters with the exception of Oliver Queen, who is being released under the supervision of ARGUS. Many speculate this is because…"**

What the news anchor said next flew over their heads. They just sit or stand there, their jaws dropping and at a loss for words at the news they just heard.

Curtis is the first to break the ice. "Oh…my god."

"Laurel did it." Felicity burst out with joyful laughter. "She did it!"

While Felicity hugs Curtis, John lets out a deep breath, glad of the outcome that came.

"William. You're plan worked."

" **Yeah, and it may have worked too well."**

John is a bit confused but keeps up his glad demeanor. "What do you mean?"

" **I'm looking at the time alert. A news article says that all of Star City is burned to the ground."**

The joyous laughter and happiness slowly died down. It is now being replaced with expressions of horror and concern.

"William, how is that possible?"

" **Most likely because Diaz is seeing the news right now…"**

 **Break**

"… _ **And he's already somewhere close to the target area."**_

Diaz punches the TV screen in a furious rage, sending it flying towards the wall behind it and breaking the entire screen to pieces. The TV and fractured glass fall on the floor, the TV's loose wires sparking out from it.

 _Released? Released?! This is all the kid. All of it! My plan was supposed to happen tomorrow night! Oliver was supposed to—_

As he raises his hands up in a rage, he notices something on his hand. A few shards of glass are stuck on his knuckles. As he takes one out, he feels a wince of pain. The wound remains, but no blood can be seen. So, he dismisses this quickly, his mind now concentrated on the plan at hand.

Diaz quickly removes the shards, the pain as intense as the arrow to his shoulder from Oliver, the one to his leg from William. He throws the shards to the ground and turns to the Longbow Hunters, who are looking at him as if seeing a monster. A most appropriate response.

"We destroy Star City…Tonight!"

* * *

" **Are you telling me that you got us to get your father out of jail knowing that Diaz would act on it?!"**

"It was a very high probability John, but I had to take the risk. I texted the rest of the team. We'll need all the help we can get. You need to go to the plant."

" **There are more than 100,000 people in Star City who are going to die."**

"And every minute we talk, we're wasting time. We know where Diaz will strike. There's still have the chance to stop him. Get over there now."

" **Fine, but I'm sending ARGUS to evacuate everyone we can. You better be right about this."**

"I hope so to. Just one more thing. I had Lyla send over a suit I designed that will help you with the Longbow Hunters. It's in your office."

" **What about you?"**

"I'll meet you there. Just get going. William out."

William hangs up and checks the cowl's calibrations one last time. All systems show that the cowl is connected to the detective vision satellite and is ready for use. With that out of the way, William takes a couple steps back, puts his hands together, and looks up to Heaven.

"God, I thank you for helping us come this far. We have worked hard to get where we are now. Please let this be the success Team Arrow and I have been striving for. Let this chapter of our lives come to an end with good triumphing over evil. But, if this all leads to failure…if people die because of this provocation against Diaz…I will accept whatever punishment awaits me when I meet you face to face, even if it means everlasting damnation. But please help us win. Don't let Diaz come out the victor. Amen."

William takes the cowl and places it on his head. He presses a button on the back of his head which adjusts it to fit him perfectly, feeling the mask cover everything except his mouth and cheeks. He sees the hud flicker on, showing his voice modulator on and the connection to the satellite and other devices running smoothly.

"Time to suit up."

* * *

They make it to one of the main pipelines, where the bomb signatures are located according to the thermal imaging on Felicity's tablet. She, along with Anatoly and Dinah escort her with guns at the ready. Strangely enough, however, there is no one in sight. John warned the workers, so that didn't catch them by surprise. But Diaz is yet to be found.

As they move in, Anatoly says, "I miss good old days where bombs could be disarmed by computer from far away in dark warehouse."

"These are not those types of bombs and, what's worse, is that both are in synch with each other, so if one is turned off, the other goes boom."

* * *

As Curtis along with John and Rene, who are in suits similar to their old ones but with subtle differences, near the main gas lines, he points out to Felicity, "Which means we have to disarm both at the same time."

Rene goes to check out the rest of the room as he says, "It's like the world's worst game of trustfall."

Curtis and John find the device attached to the main pipeline. It looked a lot like it did in the diagram, but it's many wires and ticking noise make Curtis more nervous.

"Man, I hoped it would look less scary in person. Wishful thinking."

"Overwatch, we found the first bomb attached to the main pipeline leading to Star City."

" **Copy that John. We found ours too. Wait, the timer is already ticking."**

Curtis pulls back a couple of the wires, finding a timer that displays 6:29, and counting down fast. "Ours is too."

" **The timer was activated manually. Diaz is still here."**

"Then they would be outside." John looks to Rene and Curtis. "You two got this?"

Rene nods. "Got my eyes on the bomb squad here."

With Rene's assurance, John heads outside in search of Diaz.

* * *

"Bring the chopper in as soon as possible. I want to watch the fireworks from above."

Diaz hangs up as he walks on the catwalk, heading towards a ladder. He climbs down it, reaching ground level and in an area where the chopper can easily get to him and the Longbow Hunters.

As he turns from the ladder, he sees a sight that he never thought he would see: Laurel Lance dressed in her leather suit that she wore as the Black Siren. On her face is a mask with red lenses and it seems to have changed her hair color to a shade of light brown.

Diaz smirks. "I knew you couldn't stay away baby. Good to see you in the suit again. Love the new mask too."

"Shut up!"

Diaz then chuckles. "Still feisty. That's what I liked about you."

"Enough talk. This time, I'm taking you down. For good!"

Laurel lets out her siren scream, but it doesn't affect Diaz in any way. In fact, most of the sounds around him have been muffled. The Silencer's belt came on at just the right moment.

Diaz takes out his flame thrower and shoots a jet of fire out in retaliation, forcing Laurel to retreat. He walks as he shoots out more, wanting to corner her. But suddenly, he feels something hit the flamethrower hard, forcing him to let go.

He turns his head and sees John, not wearing an ARGUS standard issue suit, but what looks like a variation of his alter-ego, Spartan. He is now wearing a suit of light Kevlar armor, and the visor covers more of his face. John rushes just past the gate, ready to take him on. Diaz tries to grab the flame thrower, but Laurel comes in with a knee strike to his side, forcing him back. He recovers quickly and engages with Laurel and soon John in a fight.

* * *

"Okay, Curtis, each device is protected by its own cryptokey. We decrypt the passcodes and we input them at the EXACT same time."

" **Yeah, I'm gonna need a little more time on my end. You got the easy bomb."**

Anatoly, sounding a bit frustrated, says, "We do not have more time. When can we run?"

"Not now."

Anatoly says nothing further, holding in what he was going to say next.

Felicity resumes decrypting the pass codes.

" **Um, guys. We have a problem. My little bundle of joy came with a backup detonator stuffed inside."**

"Can you remove it?"

" **Not if you don't want it going off prematurely."**

"So, we can't even put those passcodes in without Diaz knowing. He has the master phone, so even if we disarm the bombs here—"

Anatoly finishes, "He blows us up with phoneome call. Festive."

" **Rene, get the phone. I got this."**

With this new obstacle in their way, Felicity can't help but to think, _William, where are you?_

* * *

Dinah arrives in time to see Laurel and John fighting Diaz on both sides. Laurel tries to keep pressure on Diaz while John tries to aim his gun at somewhere that the mirakuru doesn't protect like the eyes, only to be deflected each time. Dinah takes a couple steps and already senses danger coming her way. She leans back, dodging a shield throw from whom William called Bear. She looks to where the shield came from, seeing all three Longbow Hunters jumping down from cannisters.

The one William called Red Dart shoots several of them at Dinah, who rolls into cover quickly. She arms her pistol and moves out cover to shoot back. Unfortunately, the Silencer ambushes her, disarms her of the gun, and comes in with knife strikes, which Dinah barely manages to dodge and parry.

* * *

Felicity begins to tap her foot, the timer now at 2 minutes and rapidly going down. Anatoly looks to the exit, his foot inching in its direction.

"Curtis, anything from the others?"

"No. Not even Rene."

" **That must mean the Silencer blocked communications."**

Felicity sighs in relief at the sound of William's disguised voice. _Thank god you got here William._

"Green Arrow, where are you?"

" **I'm at the facility now. Listen, when the timer reaches below 1 minute, don't wait. Enter the code and get out of there. You got it?"**

"Okay. But Diaz has a remote detonator on his phone."

" **I know. I looked over the schematics hidden by a few of the other encryptions. I'll stop him. Just be ready to type in that code. Red Arrow out."**

That last part before getting cut off confused her, Anatoly, and probably Curtis.

 _Did he just call himself…Red Arrow?_

* * *

Rene hurries to where John last called in. As he gets closer, he notices that his footsteps aren't making any sound. He doesn't stop though. He knows what this means.

As he goes past the fence, he sees Laurel taking on Diaz, John trying to keep the Bear from grabbing and crushing his neck, and Dinah being pressured by the Silencer. Rene rushes in and tackles the Silencer while at the same time grabbing her belt and shutting off the sound suppressor.

With her tackled, Rene shouts, "Diaz's phone is a remote detonator!"

Suddenly, he feels the Silencer push him off and she stands back up. He gets up quickly and puts his hands up, blocking and parrying the Silencer's strikes. Dinah doesn't help, but rather runs to John and shoots bullets at Bear, who blocks them with his shield. Using this distraction, John quickly shoots a bullet in Bear's wrist. The pain forces him to retract his hand, but he does a jab with his shield to force John away.

Laurel, who heard what Rene said about the remote detonator, goes for the phone in Diaz's pocket. Diaz grabs her wrist, the pain of it making the hand feel more metallic than human. Even through the pain, Laurel takes it out quickly. Unfortunately, the pain becomes too much. As she moves her hand, she flings the phone outside of the fenced off area and onto the ground.

Suddenly, Laurel realizes that she heard Rene's voice. The Silencer's belt is turned off. She tries to take this opportunity to let out one last scream. Diaz, however, uses his free hand to grip her neck, squeezing it just enough so that she cannot even let out a word.

Meanwhile, Rene, who is still blocking attacks, misses a parry and the knife goes for the chest. However, William left some instructions of a few upgrades to the suit he is wearing, saying that the chest is very durable against most bullets and blades. Because of this, the knife breaks as it makes impact.

Rene smirks under his mask while the Silencer is taken by surprise. With her attention taken out of the fight, Rene lands a hook to the side, following it up with a cross to the face, knocking her down, but she isn't out cold yet.

He is ready to take her down, but notices Diaz holding Felicity over his head. He throws her towards Rene, who readies himself to catch her. As he does, they both fall to the ground, the catch feeling like trying to stop a bus set in motion by a large spring.

They both get up quickly. He gives her a quick pat on the shoulder. "You okay?"

"Fine."

They turn to get back into the fight, but it is too late. The Silencer grabs the phone and tosses it to Diaz. Rene and Laurel run to them, eventually seeing John and Dinah do the same. But the Longbow Hunters surround Diaz, who keeps his thumb close to the trigger. They all stop, fearing that getting closer will only encourage Diaz to push the button sooner.

* * *

" **Felicity, we're out of time. We need to input those passcodes now."**

"Okay. On 3. 1…2…3…type!"

Felicity quickly inputs the code, hoping that Curtis is keeping up on his end. When she puts in the last number, she gets a message that says, _"Bomb disarmed."_

"Now we run."

She unhooks her tablet from the bomb quickly and follows Anatoly out the exit. She only hopes that the others can stop Diaz from triggering the bombs remotely.

* * *

Diaz's thumb hovers above the phone. He is ready to end this, even if he must die with everyone else. He can only imagine how distraught Oliver Queen will be to hear that his city has been destroyed. His wife, family, and friends dead.

Diaz then sees the notification, _"Bombs disarmed. Awaiting remote input."_ Diaz can't help but smile.

"Impressive. But pointless."

However, as his thumb is about to touch the screen, it is pierced, dead center, by an arrow. As the phone falls to the ground, Diaz notices that the arrow is not green, but red.

"I disagree Diaz!"

All of them look up to where the familiar disguised voice is. However, they don't see the Green Arrow. It's William alright, but he is wearing something entirely different. The suit looked more like armor, with glimpses of what looked like a type of weave under it. It was all mostly black from head to toe, even the attached, slick hoodie. The only exceptions are the red lenses on his black mask which covered everything but a large portion of his mouth, the red arrows in his quiver and the arrowhead on his chest.

Diaz clenches his fists, his blood boiling. He says in a silent rage, "You."

William, whatever he is now, jumps down from the pipe he made his vantage point and lands on the ground. When he stands up, Diaz does not hesitate. His plan to destroy the city may be ruined, but there is at least one chance for him to destroy Oliver Queen.

He lets out a raging scream as he charges at William.

* * *

 _His advantage: his mirakuru strength. My advantages: His rage and my suits ability to absorb his strikes. First, block incoming punch, showing him that he is not in control of the fight._

As Diaz charges forward, he winds up his arm for a punch to the face. William raises his palm up and blocks the attack, the suit doing its job properly by taking what no normal human being should be able to take, given Diaz's strength. Diaz looks at him, confounded of how that didn't even work. William smirks.

 _Next, retaliate with combo and finish him quickly._

William follows with a cross to the face and an uppercut to the gut. He continues the assault with a few punches to the face and then a kick to the stomach, pushing him against the fence. He tries to go for a hook punch, but Diaz blocks it and wraps his arms around his shoulder and torso. William quickly does the same, both of them struggling for control.

 _Diaz adapted. So must I. Break off grapple and stay on the defensive to find takedown opportunity. Side note: must beware of suit durability and limits compared to Diaz's overall strength._

William then lifts and throws Diaz and himself to the floor. The impact forces Diaz to let go and allows William to roll out and get back up. He sees the Longbow Hunters getting ready to join the fight. Diaz, however, raises a hand to stop them.

"Take care of them! He's mine to kill."

With the Longbow Hunters keeping the others at bay, Diaz looks William dead in the eyes. His snarl grows more menacing, his breathing heavier. William, to provoke Diaz into making the next move, puts his bow away, raises his hands, and places his dominant leg back.

Diaz lets out a raging scream and charges in with wild hooks that William ducks under. He returns in kind with a hook to the hip and then to the face, which seems to not do much but stagger him a little. Diaz tries to go in with a straight lead, but William comes in with a straight lead of his own which deflects the attack and punches Diaz in the face. William then employs another hook to Diaz's face, which only makes him angrier.

Diaz recovers quickly, grabbing William by the shoulders and employs a knee strike to the gut. Thankfully, the suit continues to absorb the sheer strength, but William can still feel the strength from that one knee, which also reduce the durability of the armor significantly. Diaz then throws William to the floor, which he rolls out of to recover. William somewhat struggles to get back up after that knee, but he is kicked down, the strike powerful enough to send him rolling until he is near the wall.

As William gets up, Diaz goes for another straight lead. William clenches and pins the fist to Diaz's side and quickly moves in on Diaz's shoulder. He pushes Diaz away and counters with a jab-hook-jab. Diaz allows the punches to connect and then grabs William to force him onto the wall. He goes for another straight lead, but William ducks it and moves away. The strike makes impact with the wall, leaving a crater.

 _Diaz's condition: strong, capable of taking hits, and still filled with unbridled rage. Awareness of possible trap: extremely negative. Time for the surprise._

Quickly, William bobs and weaves around Diaz and kicks him to the wall. He quickly readies his bow and a special arrow he developed with Curtis' help. As Diaz turns around, William shoots, but he grabs it out of the air.

Diaz smiles mischievously. "You missed."

William smirks. "No."

The Arrowhead opens up and disperses the gas. Diaz coughs and chokes, kneeling to the ground as he gasps for air. As he catches his breath, his hand, which has scars that never fully healed, starts to bleed. Diaz looks at it and the arrow in horror, realizing what has happened to him. The look fades instantly, replaced by a scowl.

"I never needed Mirakuru to KILL YOU!"

Diaz throws the arrow away and charges once more, this time coming in with a push kick. William catches the leg with his hand and quickly wraps both arms around it. He then steps in and sweeps Diaz's other leg, sending him to the ground. William finishes him off with a cross to the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Fall back!"

William turns around, seeing the Longbow Hunters cornered by the others. Red Dart shoots out a flare, blinding them and allowing them to make a quick escape. William figures that with Diaz taken down, they are no longer employed by him and have no reason to stay. They are no longer a threat, at least for now. But he knows he will see them again, since the Ninth Circle will be looking for him anyways.

For now, William lets go of Diaz's leg and moves away from him. He sits down, brings one of his legs up and uses it as a head rest. After a well-deserved breather, he looks up to the sky. "Thank you, God. Thank you."

He looks back to Diaz, laying there out cold, and smiles. At last, he has fulfilled his promise. At last, he has brought Diaz down. At last, the man who tore his family apart will face justice.

* * *

" **Breaking news from the Natural Gas Plant: Ricardo Diaz has just been apprehended by the police just a couple of hours ago. However, footage leaked from an unknown source shows the old vigilantes, along with Police Captain Dinah Drake, battling him and other unknown assailants. Among them was a new hero who took down Diaz personally. Whoever this person is and why these vigilantes chose now to come out of hiding is unknown at this time but has sparked debate on whether or not the Anti-Vigilante Act should be repealed."**

Dinah sighs at the news being presented to her and the others on the TV in her office. "Feels like the good old days. We fight the good fight."

Curtis nods. "But a guy with a bow and arrow gets most of the credit."

Rene gives them both a pat on the shoulders. "Come on guys. It's about time vigilantes got the credit." He then looks over to William. "Especially the guy who took down Diaz."

"It was a group effort Rene. I'm just glad Star City isn't ash right now." William then looks to Dinah. "So, what will happen to Diaz?"

"The FBI have requested that we transfer him to Slabside since he's on their most wanted list. He'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Rene looks at her with disbelief. "Seriously? After everything we had on that place?"

John intervenes with, "It's out of our hands Rene. With any luck, he'll just be transferred to a more secure prison."

"Until then, I'll have time cameras watching Slabside. If he makes a move when he gets there, I'll know. Now, I need to go. There are a couple of things I need to wrap up."

Felicity raises her hand. "Me too. I told Anatoly that I would say goodbye to him before he left."

William turns around and waits for Felicity so he can open the door for her.

"Hold up."

John's voice and his footsteps grabs William's and Felicity's attention. They see him reaching for something in his pocket. He takes a couple of items out and hands them to William. They are a passport and driver's license with his alias "Connor Hawke."

"Your new IDs as of today."

Curtis intervenes. "We're still coming up with the Social Security number and other essentials, but these will help you get around the city in the daylight."

William puts the ID in his passport and places them in his pocket. "Thanks guys."

John then reaches into his other pocket and takes out a key and a piece of paper. He hands them to Felicity. "And for you, Felicity, the key to your new apartment. The address is on the paper and an ARGUS agent is waiting outside to take you there when you're ready. We've already moved your luggage, so you don't need to worry."

Felicity smiles. "Thanks John."

William and Felicity exit the office and head in different directions, Felicity hanging a left to head to the back entrance and William going down and into the corridor that leads to the main entrance.

"So, tell me something." John's attention turns to Dinah. "You guys being vigilantes again was a one-time deal?"

"For Rene, it can be since he volunteered. At least, that's what we'll say for the record. But like I explained a couple of nights ago, William wanted Oliver to be the Green Arrow again under our supervision, and that's something he can't do alone."

"Hence you and Lyla reinstating the Ghost Initiative."

"Yeah, but under a new name. That was part of the deal we made with William in exchange for him coming to work for ARGUS. Now, Curtis and I need to get going too. We need to meet with Lyla and prepare our speech to the press about tonight's events."

Curtis clasps his hands together. "So, we'll see you all later. Preferably, at my surprise birthday party which is no longer a surprise."

John and Curtis walk to the door. Just as John is about to open it, Dinah calls to him again.

"The new name for the Ghost Initiative. What is it?"

John looks to her and Rene with a grin.

"Knightwatch."

* * *

Felicity steps outside and walks down the stairs, finding Anatoly at the fence. She can see him drinking from a flask and probably knows what is in it.

"Vodka?"

Anatoly turns around, shrugging his shoulders. "Why? Because I am Russian? Or is it stereotype?" After a moment, he nods his head. "But Da, it's vodka. But I only have a bit left."

She reaches into her jacket pocket and takes out the gift for Anatoly. "I hope they have Vodka in the Maldives. That is, if you can do an American accent."

Anatoly puts the flask away and takes what is a passport with his new identity. He flips it open and looks at the information. Seeing these details, he does his best accent for Felicity.

"Hello, I am Jason Brown from Denver Colorado."

Felicity couldn't help but chuckle at the slightly exaggerated accent.

Anatoly puts the passport in his pocket. "You are strong person Felicity. You catch Dragon…" He then takes out his pistol from his pocket from inside his coat and gives it to Felicity. She grips it slowly, her mind racing with doubts. Anatoly continues, "…now, don't look back."

She takes it and puts it to her side.

"I leave tonight, so…" He extends his hand to her. "This is goodbye."

Her mind still conflicted, she takes his hand and shakes it somewhat nervously. He smiles, probably feeling the tension in her hand.

"Be strong. You will do what must be done."

Anatoly walks away quickly, wanting to catch the plane. As soon as Anatoly goes around the corner of the building, she brings the gun close to her face. Her heart starts racing and her breathing slows down.

 _This is it. I can put an end to him, make sure he can never hurt my family again. I can just go in there, put this to his smug face and pull the—_

Suddenly, she feels something in her free hand, which she didn't notice or feel go into her pocket. She takes it out slowly, seeing the hozen she now remembers taking with her before they left for the plant. She starts to remember what William said about carrying burdens as a reminder to do better. About crossing lines and how killing someone can haunt you forever. This leads her to remember New Haven. All those innocents lost, and she was responsible for it. It left a hole inside her that continues to persist. She didn't want to do it. She wasn't a killer.

Felicity looks back at the gun. _But Diaz…He deserves to die. Doesn't he?_

* * *

Diaz sits in the interrogation room, his now bandaged hand cuffed to the nailed down bar. He no longer feels his mirakuru strength running through him. There is no way he can escape now. He just waits for someone to escort him to his cell.

Just then, the door opens, and someone walks in. It isn't a cop though. Rather, it is somebody he was hoping to talk to before he left for Slabside. Someone he suspected would come in here. He looks up and sees no red light, signifying that the camera is on a loop. It's just them, which is what Diaz prefers.

"I really could've killed you without the mirakuru."

William just stands there, a subtle scowl on his face. Diaz can't help but give an amused smirk since it is reminiscent of his father.

"You took…EVERYTHING from me. My father was sent to jail and my stepmother had to send me away. But now…" William walks a bit closer to the table. "Now I have fulfilled my promise to make you face justice at last…Richard Dragon."

The smirk on Diaz's face fades. "What did you just call me?"

William then smirks at Diaz's terror of his real identity being known. "It's funny really. Laurel just happened to stumble upon you a few nights ago when going through Dr. Parker's records. Apparently, it's the only record you have with that name. So much on you. You killed your own father when you were 16 with a knife to the throat and, supported by forensics and an anonymous tip, burned your childhood bully alive. And those are just a couple of the more than dozen murders you've committed."

William then places his hands on the table. Diaz pushes back on his chair slightly not out of fear, but more out of shock because right now, the memories are running through his head. The memories he tried to erase from official records and yet somehow were recorded by the Ninth Circle. He feels as though his entire world is crumbling down.

"I told you I would make you face justice for what you've done. So, I sent everything on you to every news outlet in the entire country. Pretty soon, it will be seen by the entire world. There will be nowhere for you to run, nowhere for you to hide. If you escape from whatever hole they put you in, everyone will be able to identify you. If you even think about laying a finger on MY FAMILY…you'll be caught just as soon as you got out. You'll be spending the rest of your life IN A CAGE." William leans away and takes a couple of steps back. "And when my Dad gets out, when we're a family again, we'll always be talking about how you failed, how WE…BEAT…YOU."

William then walks away and out of the room. Diaz starts to breathe heavily, his fist clenched. He wishes that he had mirakuru strength now. He wishes that he can just bust down the wall and do all the things possible to that scrawny little—

Just then, one possibility etches firm into his brain. He remembers where he is heading first and smiles deviously.

 _You know. I change my mind. I won't make Oliver Queen suffer. I'll make you suffer instead._

* * *

The process took a while, but Turner was sent to the hole thanks to the evidence conveniently placed for the guards to find and Stanley is being freed. Oliver now sees Stanley coming into the cafeteria, getting his lunch, and heading over to the table. While walking, he looks at Oliver with a beaming smile. Oliver just grins, glad that he is out in one piece.

"Oliver, you are a miracle worker." Stanley sits down and immediately starts to eat. "I knew you would get me out of there."

"I just did what I had to for a friend."

"Well, if you hadn't found Turner's shiv in that hiding place in the showers, they would've left me in there forever."

Oliver's grin disappears fast as he becomes confused. "How do you know that?"

Stanley stops eating for a moment and looks up. "Know what?"

"You were in the hole Stanley. How did you know it was Turner's shiv and that it was in the showers?"

Stanley tries to hide it, but Oliver can see his eyes darting around and his fingers nervously moving. "I uh…I heard it from Brick. Guy didn't shut up about it."

"You just got out and Turner was taken in only an hour ago."

"So I heard it from somebody who heard it from Brick. Can we leave it alone?"

Oliver looks at Stanley in horror. For once, Brick was right. It wasn't a set up. Stanley did in fact kill Dunbar.

 _What have I done?_

"4587." Oliver quickly looks up, seeing a guard above him with handcuffs out. "You have a visitor."

Now Oliver is more confused. "This late? Who is it?"

"He didn't pay me to answer questions. Now get up."

Oliver gets up and lets the guard cuff him. As they walk out, he contemplates whether to tell him about Stanley being the one that killed Dunbar. When they get to the door, Oliver decided that it's not necessary. Stanley is in a prison with inmates much bigger than him. Besides, Turner, even if he didn't do it, is still a criminal who has done even worse and will eventually get out. It might take a few years or more since he's charged for killing a guard, but he'll survive. Men like him always do.

His thoughts on the matter desist as they reach the door to the visitor's area. Suddenly, the guard stops and takes out a key, unlocking the cuffs which is something you do when you are in the room, not out of it.

"Wait. What are you—"

"He demanded that only you go in the room. You have 5 minutes. You hear a knock on the door, you come back here. Now get in."

Oliver does as he is told, knowing that asking questions is pointless right now. As he opens the door, he sees who is waiting for him. He smiles at William, who smirks and gives him a small wave in response. Knowing that his time is short, he walks to the chair quickly and takes the phone off the ringer as he sits.

"You came."

"I said I would, didn't I?"

Oliver looks closer at William, seeing what a man he has become. but it feels a bit weird since he is not an old man looking at his grown-up son after years apart. Still, he can't help but feel that way.

"Look at you. All grown up…and I probably wasn't there to see it."

"Well, given recent events, you probably will."

Oliver's eyes grow wide, his anticipation for the news he has been waiting for increasing.

"Do you mean…"

William nods. "We got him. We got Diaz."

"And the trial?"

"A success. Tomorrow morning, you become a free man, under ARGUS' supervision, and eventually, you'll become the Green Arrow again."

Oliver's smile widens and his excitement becomes a bit harder to contain, coming out as a laugh. "That is great William. You actually pulled it off."

"I had help. Ms. Lance's especially. Well, after I persuaded her."

Oliver chuckled a bit. "Still, you can tell her that I said thanks."

"You can tell her that once you're out. Well, I need to go."

"Wait. There's…there's one thing I need to know before you go."

William, who has partially gotten up before Oliver stopped him, sits back down. "What is it?"

Oliver takes a deep breath, hoping that this won't sound weird. Though, this is his son from the future. In truth, this will sound weird to him, but is probably true.

"The woman that helped in our escape, the blonde one. When I met her, I noticed something familiar about her that I haven't been able to quite put my finger on. Then, when I got out and looked at the photo of you and Felicity…I couldn't help but see a lot of similarities between them. Given that we're dealing with time traveling—"

"I…think you already know the answer Dad."

Oliver can tell from the way he hesitated on his next words that this was a conversation he was hoping to never bring up. At least, not this soon. This only confirms his answer.

"So, she is my daughter? Your sister?"

William nods begrudgingly. "Mia. Her name is Mia."

The name makes his heart sink. "Short for Moira." Then, knowing now that he has a daughter in the future, feels his heart rise again and his smile comes back. "It's a beautiful name."

"It is."

"Well, I'm glad to know she's in your care."

William tries to hide what is guilt on his face. Oliver becomes more concerned. "She is in your care, right?"

William sighs. "When I got back to my lair, she was gone. Whatever they did to her is making her go on a quest to take down the Ninth Circle herself."

He leans forward, his fear heightening at the prospect of his daughter getting hurt. "Please tell me you're searching for her."

"I have been for the past couple of days. She knows how to hide and protect herself, but I'll find her. I promise."

After a moment's hesitation, Oliver nods. "Okay. I believe you."

Oliver can hear a knock on the door, signaling that his time is up.

"Have faith Dad. Faith in her."

William hangs up the phone and gets up from the chair to leave. Oliver does the same and walks out of the room. He lets the guard cuff his hands and lead him to his cell. Even with the mix of good and bad news, he is glad that he is finally going home.

* * *

As soon as Felicity walks through the door of her new apartment, she takes the gun out of her pocket and places it on the table at the far side of the room and lies down on the couch across from it. She closes her eyes and takes some deep breaths, assuring herself that walking away was the best decision. She knows that it was the choice William would want her to make if he was there.

It just made sense to her. Oliver's coming home, Diaz is being put behind bars, and soon, her family will be whole again. Even if Diaz tries to break out, Oliver or William will just stop him again like they did before. Besides, she's not putting herself in jail just because of some worry in her head that is highly unlikely to happen now.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Felicity gets up from the couch but does not go for the door yet. She first hides the gun in her coat pocket which she takes off and folds.

Another knock is heard on the door.

"I'm coming!"

Felicity runs over to the door and opens it, revealing William with a bag in one of his hands.

"Hey."

"Hey. I didn't expect you to come over here."

"I left you a text. You didn't get it?"

Felicity realizes that when her mind was preoccupied on the drive home, she never checked her phone. She rubs her eyes in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I was kind of thinking of some other stuff on the way here and—"

"And by that, you mean you were trying to stave off the temptation of going back to the precinct and shooting Diaz while he was in the interrogation room."

Felicity freezes for a moment, but then breaks off into a nervous chuckle. "William, I know you have some doubts about me, but you've got to give me a little—"

"Felicity. I know Anatoly gave you a gun."

Felicity slowly realizes how William knows about what he just said, not entirely surprised. "You followed me, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

Something confused Felicity though. "But wait. Why didn't you disarm me of the gun then?"

William steps inside and closes the door. He heads over to the couch and unfolds the coat to take out the pistol.

"Well, I have thought about it. But…" He places the bag down and begins to unload the gun. "I always had faith that you would come around, that you would make the right choice. And I was right, even though I had to guide you a little bit. Also, and I hate to admit it…" He looks at the gun with discontent. "I'm not always going to be there to protect you. Neither is Dad. You need something to protect yourself with when the time comes." He then looks to Felicity with a smile. "And I am more than happy to teach you."

William places the gun and the ammo clip on the table and picks the bag back up.

"Just promise me that you'll get a gun license before you start using it outside of our lessons."

Felicity chuckles. "Okay, okay. I will."

"Good." He walks over to Felicity, raising the bag in his hand. "But, that's not why I came here. Since things have started to die down and Dad is getting out of prison, I thought we'd celebrate by doing something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Something I wanted to do with you."

"What's that?"

William reaches into the bag and takes out a box containing cookie dough powder with chocolate chip cookies already included. Felicity couldn't help but give an amused smile.

"Bake some cookies."

Felicity tries to hold in a laugh, remembering all the baked goods they made when Felicity married Oliver.

"I did miss our 'thermodynamics lessons.'"

They both laugh.

"Yeah, yeah. So did I."

Felicity claps her hands together. "Okay. I'll pre-heat the oven—"

"Oh no. I remember what happened last time you did that. You set it 20 degrees higher than it should have."

"Well, I caught it."

"I remember correctly that it was my keen nose that saved—"

They continued their banter as they baked the cookies that night, glad that they are getting to do this after what was years for William and months for Felicity. At last, the two of them feel like that their family is building back up again.

* * *

 _The room they entered contained the things that were usually Felicity's MO: A couple of computers that are no doubt password encrypted. One computer was a standard monitor while the other had a holographic display._

 _However, on the table with the holo computer was a pistol. It didn't look to have been used since there were no signs of it being thrown onto the table or forced on there as a means of disarming it. Besides the gun, the other unusual thing was a rack with arrows near the computer with the monitor._

" _Okay. I'll try to find any files on here that can lead us to—"_

 _The instant William touched a key, an alarm message came up. This computer must've been booby trapped by Felicity before she left. The entrance behind them was then blocked by a metal door._

 _John tried to find a door handle but found nothing. "No way we're going back the way we came."_

 _Zoe spun around the room slowly. "There must be another way out some—"_

 _Suddenly, a hologram projected on the wall across from them. The image was a bunch of tennis balls "bouncing" up and down. William and Roy knew right away what this was._

" _Roy, do you think—"_

" _Yes I do."_

 _Just then, a timer with the title "Time until gas dispersal" appeared. Seeing that their lives were at stake, Roy and William unsheathed their bows and unloaded all their arrows one by one._

 _While they did so, Zoe asked, "Commander Diggle, what is this?"_

" _It's a simulation of Oliver's old training exercises. This was how he honed his accuracy. Felicity must've put this here in case it was us that came in here."_

 _They reached 5 seconds and one ball remained. Though, as a ball would, it began to make smaller bounces and they were all out of arrows. Just as Roy was about to run and get one more, William quickly took out and threw one of his arrowheads from his pockets, which hit the ball at the 3 second mark._

 _They all looked at William with amazement, probably because throwing an arrowhead that fooled the detection system of the hologram was the last thing they would've thought of. However, it was a part of William's usual practice._

 _He shrugged, saying, "I always use the last ball for immobilization practice."_

 _The timer disappeared, replaced with an "Access Granted" message. The holographic terminal flickered to life soon afterwards._

 _William quickly walked to it. "That must be her main terminal." He filtered out the data to find anything pertaining to the day Felicity left this place. He didn't find much except for a message she sent out to someone named "Blackstar."_

 _He clicked on the message and it played Felicity's voice._ _ **"Blackstar, if you get this, you need to do something for me. I have gotten involved with bad people, people who need my research in something that could mean the destruction of Star City. I left you more details in your office. Knightwatch will come pick it up. Give it to them and then leave the city. I don't want to see you hurt."**_

 _William clicked out of the message and breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. They need her, which means there's still a chance of her being alive."_

 _Roy stroked his chin. "Blackstar. John, you know anyone by that name?"_

 _John shook his head. "No. But I'll get Knightwatch spies to find whoever he or she is."_

" _Well, I hope they can work fast." William placed his hands on his hips and looked at John with a serious stare. "The message said Felicity was needed to complete these "bad people's" plan. If they captured her…They will dispose of her once they got what they needed."_

* * *

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to favorite this story if you like it so far and leave a review. Also, be sure to click the follow button on the story or my account so you never miss a chapter and share this story with others who you think will like it. Thank you again and have a good day.


	9. Episode 8: Damnation

**Disclaimer:** Based on characters and references owned by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy

* * *

Episode 8: Damnation

* * *

Another bump in the road. Another row of trees passing the van by. The third one in a while. Diaz has passed this road many times before. He knows that they are an hour away from the prison.

Unlike the times before, he is now a prisoner, chained and humiliated. The moment he was defeated still burns a hole in his mind. Not just his defeat at the hands of William Queen at the Natural Gas Plant, but at the Precinct. When it was revealed to him that his real name had been recorded by the Ninth Circle. When the brat said he sent that same file to every major media outlet in the country. By now, everyone knows who he is. While he is beyond angry, he now has a new purpose. Kill Oliver Queen and leave William as broken as he is now.

But Diaz can feel that something is not right. Even though he is chained, no police presence went with him on the trip. He'd thought that, given that he is the most wanted man in Star City, that they would make more of an effort to ensure nothing goes wrong.

And now, strangely enough, he feels the escort van slow down until it comes to a complete stop.

 _Wait. We can't be that close. Why's the driver—_

Suddenly, the back door opens, revealing none other than the Deacon. As he enters and takes a seat, Diaz can feel his anger rising. Though, he chooses to disguise this anger with a sarcastic smile.

"So, it was you who arranged to send me to Slabside, wasn't it? Probably why there's no security detail in here either?" Diaz leans in a little bit. "So, is this your way of saying goodbye? Sending me off into that little playground you barely keep watch of?"

"You are angry Ricardo. I do not blame you."

Diaz's smile is replaced with a glare. "So, you admit it? You let that doctor of yours record everything of my past, sitting there so it can be stolen?!"

"I never wanted to authorize that action! It was Dante that gave the order."

"I don't give a damn!" Ricardo shoots out from his seat, the chains and cuffs refusing to let him get any closer to the Deacon. "That information is now being sent all over the country! Soon, the entire world will know!"

"That is what I warned Dante and he refused to listen! He was more concerned about you being a threat than being one of our greatest and most trusted members."

"If you actually trusted me, then you would've stopped him in the first place!"

The Deacon stands up slowly. "Who was it who had your name changed when you entered that orphanage? Who was it that saw your true potential when you reached into that fire to grab that charred photo? Gave you your new life? I took you in when you were a pitiful boy and turned you into a warrior. I opposed Dante's order, but the majority of members agreed. He has only strengthened the obsession that ails your mind."

Diaz, as he is hearing this, starts to calm down a bit. He knows what the Deacon means by his last sentence.

"While Oliver Queen lives, you shall forever be plagued by your thirst for vengeance, deter you from the effective warrior you once were. Because of this, I shall allow you to kill him by whatever means necessary. Even if that means you must make chaos run rampant in the prison."

Diaz is about to ask why the Deacon would allow this, but quickly withholds it. His mind starts to process what exactly the Deacon gets out of this. When he realizes what it is, he gives an amused smile.

"I see. You're losing control of the prison and the Ninth Circle. You're going to defect and to do so, you're going to diminish their potential numbers. You're going to kill the Level 2 prisoners and you need me to create a distraction." Diaz chuckles. "You really think I'll comply to you?"

"I know you want to kill Queen. And to complete your task, you need this." The Deacon takes out a key from his pocket. "These will free you from your chains. The two guards still loyal to me will meet you outside with a civilian disguise. It was all they could muster without being caught. How you accomplish your task is in your hands. Succeed, and you shall prove your worth. Fail…and you must suffer the consequences."

Diaz slowly reaches out his hand. Instead of taking the key though, he grabs the Deacon's hand and pulls him in close.

His tone is almost a whisper, but his anger can still be heard. "You listen to me! I don't care how much you trust me or what your plans are. I won't be the puppet of some cult that doesn't see eye to eye with me! After I get what I want, you, Dante, and the rest of the Ninth Circle…you can go SCREW YOURSELVES."

As Diaz lets go of the hand, he takes the key away. As he sits back down, the Deacon looks him dead in the eyes.

"You do this, there will be consequences. You will receive everlasting damnation if you go down this path."

Diaz doesn't get up again. Instead, he gives a scowl and says, "I'm already damned."

The Deacon looks to the floor. With the mask on, Diaz can't tell what the Deacon is feeling right now, nor does he care. After a while, the Deacon exits the van without another word. The doors close and the van starts to move again. Diaz looks at the key given to him and then starts to unshackle himself.

* * *

Oliver wakes to the sound of prison bars being hit by a club. Usually, he would be glad to be awake since every dream was the same nightmare over and over. This time, however, he is disappointed.

He dreamed of being home, cooking a Thanksgiving Turkey with Felicity and both young and older William. Joining them at the table was Mia, who helped to cut the turkey into pieces, saving one of the legs for her. The dream ended before Oliver could even take the first bite. Soon though, that dream will become real.

Oliver sits up and swings his legs around to the edge of the bed. He looks to the guard standing outside of his cell.

"Morning 4587."

Oliver smiles. "Beautiful day." For once, those two words mean something to him. They are no longer bearers of false hope. Today is certainly that. Today, he becomes a free man.

The guard clears his throat, which sounds a bit disgruntled. "You will be escorted late in the afternoon. Some friends of yours will be picking you up at the front gate."

His tone of voice and him muttering angrily as he leaves share a hidden feeling. He is not pleased with Oliver getting out. Though, Oliver doesn't know if it's because him being released proves the prison's downfall or because a former vigilante is being given special treatment.

Regardless, Oliver is grateful for the chance given to him by William. By all the team. But then he looks at the wall, in the direction of the cell next to him. He remembers that there is one last thing he must do before he leaves. One last person he must talk to.

* * *

Stanley grabs his lunch and heads over to Oliver's table with a big smile on his face. He has just heard today that Oliver is getting out of Slabisde along with other prisoners that were in Level 2. He is glad for Oliver. Plus, he sees an opportunity to get out of this place.

He pats Oliver on the shoulder as he passes by to make his way to the opposite side of the table. "Hey Oliver! I heard you're getting out. Congratulations."

As Stanley sits down, he sees Oliver glare at him for some reason. Though, he chooses to dismiss it.

As he chows down, he pops the question. "So, uh, I was wondering. You think you can put in a good word with your buddies at ARGUS or maybe the D.A? You know, get me out of this hellhole?"

"No."

The immediateness at which Oliver says this kind of surprises Stanley. Still, he keeps smiling and waves the comment off.

"I know I'm asking a lot from you, but you've got connections to—"

"STANLEY." Oliver's voice is now firm but kept to a whisper. "I'm not getting you out of here."

Stanley is now confused and starts to panic a bit. His hand starts to shake a little.

Stanley chuckles nervously. "Wh—why not?"

Oliver leans in and looks Stanley in the eyes. "You tricked me Stanley. YOU killed Dunbar. YOU planted the evidence in Turner's hiding place. He's been falsely left in the hole because of YOU."

Stanley is baffled, but he tries to keep his voice to a whisper. "Who—who cares? Dunbar had it coming. Come on, show me some compassion here!"

"Me not telling the guards is COMPASSION enough. This place is where you belong Stanley. It's what you deserve."

Stanley starts to become tense, worried that he is going to lose his friend forever. "No, no, no, no, no. Oliver, don't do this! I won't last a day in here without your help. Please!"

Oliver just gets up and takes his empty tray with him. Stanley starts to breathe heavily. At first, he thought he was going to cry. Instead, he holds in the tears. He grips the plastic knife in his hand. His teeth clench as he glowers.

 _You won't leave me Oliver. If you do, you'll end up like all the others that rejected my friendship!_

* * *

William, through the time camera, sees Oliver leave the table, his friend upset.

 _That guy killed a guard and framed it on Ben Turner? When I saw the guy, he seemed like a nice guy. Though, Victor Zsasz seemed that way to everyone at first and then he went around murdering women in Gotham. If this Stanley guy is a psycho, I need to know._

William scans Stanley's face and puts it up with all known police facial recognition software he gained access to over the past 6 months. Afterwards, he continues to keep an eye on Oliver, who is on his way to his cell. However, one of the guards stops him on the way there.

" **Hold it 4587. You have a visitor."**

 _He does? I thought everyone else was getting the welcome back party arranged._

William sets the time camera to follow Oliver to make sure he wasn't getting ambushed on the way there. He also sets it to scan for and alert him when Oliver's vitals changed.

Just then, the crime recognition gets a ping. William finds a criminal record with all the details he needs.

 _Let's see. Stanely Dover. Born in Gotham City._

William strokes his chin as he glances over the information. _Huh. There's a large gap in time here. The only time he resurfaced was when he got arrested for murdering a man out in the open. He never resisted arrest, never ran from the scene. The only time you would do that is if you wanted to get caught. He WANTED to be in Slabside. But he said that he can't make it in there without…_

His eyes widen as he realizes Stanley's possible motive. _Without Dad! Stanley must have Big Brother syndrome, brought about by trauma and attachment to a brotherly figure. If I can find his family history…_

Suddenly, the alert for Oliver's vital signs go off. William brings up the screen and it opens to something odd. Oliver is in the visiting area but is unharmed. Though, his eyes are wide, and his breathing is somewhat slow. William zooms out to find out what exactly has Oliver horrified.

William sees what Oliver is starring at. It is someone wearing a hoodie and a hat to try to hide his…

 _Wait a minute. That can't be…_

William moves the camera around to get a good look at the face. As soon as he does, he begins to feel the same horror when he sees the sinister smirk on the face of Ricardo Diaz, aka Richard Dragon.

* * *

Oliver can't believe what he is seeing. William said that they caught Diaz, yet here he is with a sinister smirk on his face and waving to him. Oliver approaches slowly, being cautious of any traps or a sign of an ambush. He gets to the booth safely and sits down while taking the phone off the ringer.

Diaz puts the phone to his ear. "I see that prison life hasn't treated you so well."

"Listen to me very care—"

"I DON'T THINK…that you're in the position to be making demands right now." Diaz motions his head to the family talking to another prisoner just a couple of windows away. "Not unless you want to see innocents die."

Oliver sighs in frustration, knowing that Diaz is right. He keeps silent, waiting for Diaz to speak.

Diaz's smirk turns into a smile. "You know, when I heard that you were getting out of prison, it felt like my only opportunity to make you suffer was just…fading away. But this isn't about you anymore. Thanks to that son of yours, I have NOTHING. What's worse is that he exposed me, leaving me NOWHERE to run. He made me suffer. Now, I want to make HIM suffer…by killing the one thing that matters to him." Diaz points to Oliver.

"So, this is your plan? You're coming after me in a Federal Prison?"

Diaz scoffs. "You think I haven't been in a place like this before? I've come and gone from prison to prison. I know how guards THINK. Their routines, training. You can try to warn them, but they won't listen. You're no Green Arrow in here. You're a number. Not even HUMAN. You'll die here today."

Diaz takes the phone from his ear and moves it over his mouth. "I'm going to make you and your brat suffer…the way you made ME suffer. And when I'm done with you… and when he begs for me to kill him…I'll pay a visit to Felicity…to little William…" Hearing these words makes Oliver scowl. He grips his phone tightly. "…And I'm going to FINISH THE JOB."

Oliver finds that he can't contain his anger any longer. He slams the phone on the window, trying to break it so he can get to Diaz. As the cracks start to pile up, though, he finds his arms being restrained by the armored guards. Diaz just puts the phone on the ringer and starts to walk away.

Oliver struggles to get himself out. "No! Let me go!" He throws one of the guards down to point at Diaz, who is nearing the door. "That's Ricardo Diaz!" Suddenly, he feels a jolt of electricity on his stomach that felt extremely intense. He finds himself unable to get any words out or struggle anymore. He is dragged back to his cell while Diaz walks through the door and disappears.

* * *

William is baffled. _How is that possible?! He was being escorted! Wait. The front entrance!_

William shifts the camera from the conversation between Oliver and Diaz to the front entrance and rewinds to when Diaz's truck arrives. He sees only two guards in black officer uniforms waiting for Diaz to come out. Diaz does, but not in chains or with a police escort. He approaches the guards, who hand him the hoodie and hat he was wearing.

 _Corrupt guards. I should've—_

His thoughts are interrupted when he sees Diaz take out what looks like a key and stabs it in the neck of one of those guards. He then takes the stun baton of the fallen guard and uses it on the other guard. He then proceeds to stab him in the neck with the key as well.

He looks to the driver, who does nothing but shake uncontrollably. Diaz strips the guard of his uniform and wears it, covering the top part with the hoodie he puts on.

With things now in perspective, William shifts the camera back to the visitor room, just catching Diaz leaving and Oliver, who looks as if he had been drained of energy, being taken back to his cell. He quickly takes his cell phone and calls up John.

" **Hello?"**

"John, it's me! We have a situation!"

* * *

Oliver's strength starts to return, and his breathing quickens as he is being dragged away. By the time he feels his strength at full capacity, he is thrown into his cell and the door closes.

One of the guards, the guard that woke him this morning, appears at his cell with a glare. "This may be your last day here 4587, but as long as you're in this prison, you must follow—"

"You don't—" Oliver coughs, the shock still affecting his breathing a bit. "You don't understand. Ricardo Diaz was in there. He is in the building right now!" Oliver walks up and grabs the bars, trying to get as close to the guard as he can. "You have to let me out of here so I can help you stop him!"

"This is a maximum-security prison. We have patrols all over the place consisting of trained professionals. Even if this Diaz has infiltrated the prison, he won't get—"

"That won't…" Oliver stops himself, knowing that his yelling will come out more as hostile than a warning. He resumes with a calmer yet still urgent voice. "That won't matter. Not against Diaz. You need to let me help you."

The guard takes out his club and bangs it on the bars. It forces Oliver to back off. "You need to shut up and stay in that cell! If Diaz is here, we can take him on ourselves. Now, you have a few hours left. So, stay there and keep your mouth shut!"

Oliver, realizing that he isn't going to get help, waits for the guard to leave. He then takes a bag filled with a few essentials given to him on his first day and empties it onto the bed.

"Diaz is here?" Oliver hears Stanley's voice, who sounds frightened. "Come on Oliver. Talk to me. What are we going to do?"

Ignoring Stanley's pleas, Oliver takes an aerosol spray, a canister that has a bar of soap, and some gum. He unwraps the gum and chews on it until it is sticky enough. He then places the chewed gum on the side of the spray.

"Oliver, I know you're still mad about the Dunbar thing, but this is Diaz! Everyone deserves a second chance. Right?"

Oliver takes out the bar of soap and taps it on the sink. He can hear a bit of clanking inside it, which is what he expected. He pulls apart the two halves and takes out the battery that he stored in it and attaches it to the gum. He then wraps the gum wrapper around the battery. Finally, he takes the top and the nozzle off.

He turns around, seeing Stanley with a look of awe on his face. "Holy Shit! You're Shaw Shanking out of here."

Stanley disappears, probably knowing what is going to happen next. Oliver quickly throws his makeshift explosive at the lock and turns around quickly, bracing himself for a possibly large one. Hearing the explosion and not feeling that it reached him, he turns around and sees a small hole where the lock should be.

Oliver quickly opens the door and walks out. He is quickly surrounded by guards coming to see what the noise was.

Oliver hears Stanley's pleading voice. "Oliver, let me come with you!"

"Stay out of this!"

The guard Oliver spoke to earlier starts to walk up with his grip on his sheathed club.

"Stand down 4587!"

Oliver stands firm. "You are either calling for backup or I WILL."

The guard quickly takes out his club. "I said stand down!"

After a moment of Oliver not responding, the guard charges in. Oliver quickly ducks a horizontal swing and punches the guard in the gut hard enough to knock him to the ground. An armored guard tries to tackle Oliver, but is quickly kicked away. Another armored guard grabs Oliver and tries to restrain him. However, Oliver turns them around and slams the guards helmeted head on the bottom side of the stairs, which is enough to knock him out.

Oliver moves quickly, thinking that he should head to the morgue to escape and head to the ARGUS outpost John once told him was nearby. However, he sees three more armored guards coming from his right. Adapting quickly, he runs up the stairs. Another guard comes at him from upstairs, readying his club to strike. Oliver blocks the strike and throws him to the side. A second one tries to do the same and Oliver grabs him. Instead of throwing him to the side, Oliver throws him downstairs, slowing down the others trying to run up.

Seeing more guards coming from upstairs, Oliver climbs up the railing and jumps to the other side. As he climbs up, he looks down and sees the guard getting up and pointing up at him.

"Kiss your early release goodbye!"

Oliver quickly runs up the first set of stairs he finds and runs to the door that leads out of the cell block. All the while, he can hear the guards shouting on their radios.

"4587 is escaping custody! I need all routes out of the prison blocked off NOW!"

He gets to the door and quickly runs out. He knows that at this point, he won't be able to get out of the prison itself. But if he makes it to the locker room, then he can find something to call for backup on his own.

* * *

Diaz, disguised in a somewhat bloodied prison uniform, manages to pass the frantic and preoccupied guards by and make his way through the cell block. As he gets to the entrance to the prison courtyard, he sees prisoners on their knees and their hands behind their heads.

He opens it slightly, able to hear the murmuring between them, which is silenced by a guard almost every few seconds.

One of them speaks out in a frustrated tone. "Hey! Are we going to be here all day?"

One of the guards walks toward the prisoner, who Diaz recognizes as Danny Brick, and pushes his head down.

"You'll be here as long as WE say, inmate."

 _Tension between guards and prisoners._ Diaz smiles. _The perfect recruits._

Diaz opens the door and walks out. "Inmates!" All eyes fell on Diaz as he makes his way to the center of the crowd. "Look at yourselves! You're on your knees, cowering to men who are weak. Who are beneath you!" Diaz turns around as he continues to speak, sounding sympathetic and sincere. "I've been where you are now. Treated like an animal. You can only take that for so long."

"Hey!" He can hear the guard walking towards him. "Why don't you zip it pal?"

Diaz is reminded of the pain of taking orders from guards like him. He remembers the cruelty given for not following a simple order. Diaz, now becoming angry, grabs a knife from his pocket and slashes the guard's throat. He then dispatches the guards up top with his pistol, glad that they weren't the ones wearing armor. One armored guard not too far comes charging at him, but Diaz stabs him in a vulnerable area next to the stomach armor piece and then kicks him away.

Diaz can feel his being replaced with satisfaction. He forgot how good it felt to kill someone giving him orders. What's better, all the prisoners stand up and look to him. They look to him as one would look to a leader. For once, he's the one in control. The Deacon's plans no longer matter to him. He is his own man.

"These guards here, they imprisoned you."

Many of them nod or faintly say "Yeah."

"They DISRESPECTED you!"

Their chant becomes louder.

"They TAUNTED you!"

They become louder still, throwing their fists in the air and spitting on the corpses.

"So, tell me! You all want to make 'em pay?"

They all scream "Yeah" at the top of their lungs.

"You all want to make 'em pay?!"

The last, almost deafening "Yeah" more than confirms their answer.

He points his pistol to the door he came from. "Then make them pay!"

They all start to run back into the prison, a few of them picking weapons off from the corpses on the way. However, Danny Brick doesn't leave just yet, neither does another prisoner that Diaz knows to be Derek Sampson. They are smirking, appreciating the gesture. But they have something else in mind.

When the courtyard is empty except for the three of them, Diaz walks up to them. "What is it you two want?"

Brick speaks for them. "Just one thing: a ticket out of this hellhole."

Diaz flips the pistol and takes it by the barrel before extending it to Brick. "Ask and you shall receive. But first, I need you two to arrange a…welcoming party."

* * *

William, who must go by his Red Arrow persona according to ARGUS protocol, goes through the breach that drops him off at the vent leading into the morgue. He kneels and sets aside the bag he is carrying. As he loosens the grate, he quickly patches through to John. "I'm in position."

" **Copy that. Cisco's breach device worked. We're at the outpost and will be there in 10 minutes**."

"By then, Diaz will have full control of the prison."

" **Regardless, try to find our mole inside the compound and rescue him if you can. He'll be dressed as one of the armored guards."**

"Will do." Red Arrow takes the grate off and puts it against the wall. He then slings the bag back onto his shoulder.

" **Red Arrow, this is Overwatch. We have a bit of a problem."**

"What is it?"

" **Something's jamming our broadcast signal inside Slabside and it's hard to bypass. We won't be able to contact you once you're inside."**

"Copy that. Keep tabs on me through the time cameras. Going radio silent now."

" **Got it. And…please be careful."**

William smirks. "Will do Overwatch. Red Arrow out."

With that, he proceeds through the hole, hoping that it is not too late to stop Diaz.

* * *

Oliver hides in the shadows of the Hole's corridors, always looking back to see if any guards are going to come up from behind. He is just halfway to the locker rooms, where he can get a hold of a phone or long-distance radio.

Suddenly, he hears a voice. "Still no sign of 4587."

Oliver turns around and sees four guards, three armored and one normal one leading them. He hides behind a pillar before their flashlights could illuminate him. He waits for them to pass and then grabs the first armored guard in a chokehold, squeezing on the neck until he is unconscious. Afterwards, when they reached the door, he grabs the second guard and does the same thing.

When the last two guards turn around, Oliver quickly rushes in with a push kick and knocks the lead guard to the wall. When the armored guard tries to punch, Oliver deflects, clinches an arm and the neck, and sweeps the guards legs to send him to the ground. He then finishes the guard off by taking off his helmet to punch him in the face.

Seeing that they are all down, Oliver quickly goes and enters the locker room. Before he can get two steps inside, though, he feels a pinch in his left ankle. He looks down and sees Stanley at the doorway injecting him with what looks like a small anesthetic.

Stanley looks up to Oliver with a nervous smile. "Sorry Oliver. I had to do this."

Before Oliver can protest, he finds himself unable to say a single word as the world becomes darker around him. He feels his legs collapse underneath him, but he loses consciousness before he even hits the floor.

* * *

Red Arrow turns around another corner, keeping his bow and arrow aimed for any threats that may lurk here. As he walks down the corridor, he hears the noise of a door opening not far from where he is. He takes cover behind the next corner, listening for the footsteps that are heading this way. They become louder as the person comes closer, Red Arrow determining the distance that he must be at. Too close and the person can disarm him. Too far and the arrow will just miss.

When he hears the footsteps possibly in the right spot, Red Arrow moves out of the corner and aims. The person, caught by surprise, puts his hands up quickly.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Hey! Put the bow down Green-"

Red Arrow gets a good look at the person, seeing that it is none other than Ben Turner, aka Bronze Tiger. Ben Turner looks at him with a confused look.

"Wait a second. You're no Green Arrow. Or are you?" After a moment of looking up and down, Ben Turner nods his head. "Yeah, you are. New look, but same figure. Seems like you decided to ditch Green in favor of black and red."

"And you're not supposed to be wondering these halls, I bet."

Turner lowers his arms slowly. "Look, I have no beef with you. Just let me go and pretend you never saw me."

"I'm not letting you escape this hallway or the prison, Ben Turner!"

"I'm not trying to escape prison! I'm trying to find the guy that framed me and put me in this hellhole!"

Red Arrow lowers his bow and raises an eyebrow. "You mean for killing a guard?"

Turner, seeing the bow lowered, completely lowers his arms to his sides. "Seems news spreads fast, even outside of prison. Either that, or you had this place under surveillance from the start. Maybe you know who set me up. So, how about you tell me who it was so I can show him the consequences of screwing with me?"

As Turner is about to walk, Red Arrow raises his bow. "Does that involve killing?"

Turner stops but doesn't raise his hands. "No. Just some good old intimidation and putting him here so he can suffer MY pain. Now, you gonna let me go or what?"

"Even if that's your intent, I can't. For one, Richard Dragon has infiltrated Slabside. Most likely he is taking it over as we speak."

Turner tilts his head and gives a confused look. "Richard Dragon?"

"The real name of Ricardo Diaz."

"The guy that Oliver Queen keeps complaining about?"

"Yes. So, the last thing I need is another criminal like you running around. So, get back into your cell NOW."

Just as Red Arrow pulls back the string, Turner raises a hand up. "Hey, hey, hey! How about this? I help you and you help me. I help you stop this Richard Dragon guy and in return, you help me find the guy who wanted me to rot in here and I get out of the Hole."

"Why do I need your help?"

Turner looks around the hallway. "Well, I don't see any more vigilantes down here. Do you? And if this Richard Dragon guy has control of the prison, that means an army of inmates are between you and him. So, do we have a deal or—"

"Oliver? Oliver, wake up."

A distant voice is heard just down the hallway Red Arrow is standing in. He recognizes it as Stanley Dover's voice, which worries him. With an unstable psycho like him here and possibly holding Oliver hostage, there's no telling what he'll do. He turns on his detective vision to try and find out what is going on. However, whatever is blocking communications in the prison is also interfering with his vision. He turns it off and turns to Turner.

"You want to help? Start by helping me find Oliver Queen. Come on." Red Arrow starts to run in the direction of the voice. He looks back and sees Turner following behind. So far, Turner hasn't tried to stab him in the back. But that can change.

* * *

"Oliver? Oliver, wake up."

Oliver slowly opens his eyes. He finds himself tied up against a single stack of lockers. He sees Stanley with a shiv in his hand, pacing back and forth in front of him.

"I'm sorry. This is the only way I can talk to you."

Oliver tries to speak, even when he is still recovering from the anesthesia given to him. "S-Stanley? How did you…how did you get out of your cell?"

"Diaz. He let everyone out and now they're taking it over. The first thing I did was come and find you."

Oliver nods. "Good-good on you Stanley. Look, maybe…maybe you can help me." This makes Stanley stop pacing. "You can be my-my sidekick. We can work together to stop Diaz. You just need to untie me. Okay?"

Stanley looks as if he is about to jump up and down in glee. Though, he contains his excitement.

"Actually, I already have a plan. We can just get out of here. We can leave all of this behind us. Think of all the…"

Oliver stops paying attention to Stanley when his eyes catch a head peering in the doorway. The head is wearing a mask with red lenses, but Oliver recognizes the mouth and cheek structure. It is William.

William mouths, "Knock him down." Oliver subtly nods and shifts his eyes to Stanley, who is still talking on.

"Stanley. STANLEY." Stanley stops talking and listens to Oliver. "I can't leave the prisoners and guards to die."

Stanley stands up and scoffs. "Who cares about them?" He points upward to the surface level. His tone starts to sound a bit psychotic. "Diaz is giving them what they deserve! You know that!"

"I can't do that to them Stanley. I'm sorry."

Stanley seems to be at a loss for words. He moves the knife back and forth in Oliver's direction, his jaw whimpering as if trying to form a sentence of some kind. Oliver has a hard time telling what is going on with him.

Eventually, Stanley crouches down and points the knife to Oliver. "You were going to leave me. You were going to abandon me to Brick and Sampson!" Stanley's eyes widen and his teeth clench, making a menacing and disconcerting face. His voice becomes an angry whisper. "I did NOTHING WRONG!"

Oliver keeps his voice calm. "Stanley, come on."

Stanley stands back up and paces back and forth again. "You're just going to attack me!"

"Why would I attack you?"

Stanley's voice becomes whinier. "Because you're the Green Arrow. You hurt bad guys and you think I'm the bad guy. It's because of what everyone says about me!"

"Stanley, I don't even know what people say."

Stanley stops, putting his menacing face back on. "That I'm a killer! It's just like—just like the Dunbar thing! I had no choice! Those people DESERVED what they got!"

The more information Oliver is getting, the more concerned he becomes. "You killed other people besides Dunbar?"

"YES, I—" Stanley stops himself. He takes a not so calm breath before speaking again. "What you and I do isn't that different." He starts to walk to Oliver.

 _Wait for it._

"We can get out of here and make our own te—"

Once Stanley is close enough, Oliver kicks Stanley's leg and forces him to trip down. William quickly moves in and prepares an arrow with a rubber tip on it. Stanley tries to get up, but William's arrow hits his head, knocking him out.

William runs up to Oliver and crouches down next to him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

William quickly takes out an arrow and cuts through the ropes. He helps Oliver up to his feet. Oliver looks at William, now seeing the new suit in its entirety. It reminds him of the suit his alternate Earth X version wore, only more armored and slightly more menacing. For Oliver, the differences in design and the man in the suit outshined the similarities.

"I like the new suit."

William smiles. "Thanks."

"So, your friend really was the one who killed Dunbar?" Oliver looks away and sees Turner looking down at Stanley. Turner scoffs. "I somehow knew that innocent act was nothing but show."

Oliver grabs William's shoulder pad and whispers, "What is HE doing here?"

"We have a truce—" William looks to Turner. "Which you are going to honor. Right?"

Turner crosses his arms. "He may have said he was the guy, but that won't get me out of the Hole."

William holds out his arm and taps on a screen. It plays the last minute or more of Stanley's words.

"I recorded everything. Your innocence is proven. Now, can we focus on the other psychopath that's taking over the prison right now?"

" **You mean TAKEN over."**

The three of them hear the voice of Ricardo Diaz coming from a walkie talkie on the table across from them. William walks over and picks it up.

"Richard Dragon."

* * *

"You sayin' my real name just to piss me off? Or are you one for formalities?" Diaz chuckles and shrugs it off as the wind blows on his face. He paces back and forth on the rooftop.

"You like my new toy? It's a parting gift from the Longbow Hunters. It jams all communications from Slabside inside and out. Right now, it's just you, the FORMER GREEN ARROW…and me."

He can hear Oliver Queen's voice blasting over the radio. **"You listen to us Diaz!"**

"No! You listen to me. I'm in control of this place now. There is nowhere for you to run or hide! I'll know when you're coming cause I've got an entire horde of inmates ready to take you to me. You can just surrender now and I'll make your suffering quick and your death…PAINLESS."

The next voice to come out is William's. **"Dragon. Listen. It's us you want. No other innocents have to die."**

Hearing his name being used again makes him yell a bit over the walkie talkie. "What do they call you where you're from?! Red Arrow?! Maybe I should be using that as a formality! Or how about, just a suggestion, I shout your real name from the rooftops if you say my name one more freaking time?!"

The silence on the radio speaks volumes over the authority Diaz now has on them. He smirks and revels in it. "You're right Red Arrow. It is the both of you I want. I want you to suffer as you made ME…suffer. But I know you. You want me to think that you'll hand yourself over peacefully and pull the rug from right under me. I know that you would've called on your friends just before you came here." As he finishes his sentence, Diaz sees armored trucks heading in the direction of the prison. He laughs maniacally. "And it looks like I was right!"

The trucks hastily park and the doors fling open. ARGUS agents swarm out, John Diggle being among them, and aim their guns right at Diaz. He quickly picks up the mole that has been bleeding out for the past three minutes and uses him as a human shield.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! WELCOME to the hostile takeover of a lifetime!"

John puts a megaphone to his face. "Richard Dragon! You are surrounded! Stand down now!"

The mention of his name once more makes his face feel as if it is being covered by molten lava. He speaks into the radio with a silent whisper. "You told them to say my name, didn't you?! Well, hear this."

He keeps the radio on, speaking to the people aiming at him and the two vigilantes along with the one other person in there listening in. "As you can see, I found your mole! Poetic, really! Using the guy that I used to get all the info to steal the battery…twice! Once to ruin my plan of using an energy weapon and now to try and spy on this prison! But this isn't my only hostage! I have a dozen of guards at most! You shoot me or try to set foot inside the prison, they all die! NOW, for the first event."

Diaz takes off the radio and puts it in front of the mole. He also grips the knife that pierced his hip.

"Say it."

The guard hesitates. Eventually, he says, "Don't listen to a damn—"

Diaz twists the knife, causing the guard to grunt in pain. He clenches his teeth, trying not to scream, to show no weakness. But Diaz knows that he is a coward.

"SAY…IT!"

The guard catches his breath after Diaz stops twisting the knife. This time, when the guard speaks, he complies.

"Green Arrow…Red Arrow…you…have failed…this city."

Diaz smirks. "Good man."

Quickly, he takes the knife out of the guard quickly, causing him to scream in immense pain.

The guard yells out, "Tell my wife and child I—"

Before he can finish, Diaz plunges it into his throat. The guard gurgles, trying to get the last words out, but can't. Diaz can see several ARGUS agents ready to fire, but John stops them.

Diaz looks out into the crowd. "That…was for using my name!"

Diaz pushes the soon to be deceased guard off the edge. As he turns around and walks to the door leading back inside, he hovers the radio in his hand over his mouth to say one last thing to the Queens and their friend. "I'll be in the Mess Hall. Just so you know, even if you take down the prisoners waiting in the cell block, I still have hostages. So, if you pull anything, they DIE."

He throws the radio down as he steps inside, seeing no further use for it. Diaz got his message across. Now, he must wait.

* * *

Red Arrow feels as if he is going to collapse. He holds himself up by placing his hands on the table. He recognized the thick Spanish accent of Enrique Gonzalez on the radio, heard his pain filled words and his attempts to let out a couple more words when Diaz cut his throat.

 _They sent him?! He had a wife and child! They knew that! They knew that and that was how they wanted him to repay for being blackmailed?! How do they expect a widow and a fatherless child to…?_

Realizing what he is doing, he shakes his head.

 _No! Put the mission first. Put the mission first._

He feels a hand on his shoulder pad. Oliver quietly says, "Breathe."

Red Arrow takes a couple of deep breaths, which help him to calm down.

 _There will be time to grieve later._

Red Arrow steps away from the table and looks to Oliver and Turner.

"Dragon said he has hostages in the Mess Hall and a prison full of criminals standing between us and him. We need to get there now."

Turner intervenes. "There are only two ways into the cell block and they're sure as hell going to keep those covered."

Oliver nods. "For once, he's right. We don't know how they're covering ground and we don't know what kind of weaponry they possibly got from the guards and the armory."

Turner looks at Oliver with a glare. "For once?"

"Not just those two. This level is directly under the cell block. We just have to think creatively." Red Arrow reaches into his pocket. "And a little reconnaissance." He takes out one of his bots and shows it to Oliver and Turner.

Turner looks at the bot a bit skeptically. "What exactly does this have?"

"For one, a camera. And second, it's the only thing not jammed by Dragon's device."

Turner then nods his head. "Sounds good."

"Wait." Oliver looks to Turner with a scowl. "Can we trust you?"

Turner points to Stanley, who he tied up while they talked to Dragon. "He helped me find this punk. I owe him one."

"You worked with Brick and Sampson. You killed people for them."

"Me working for Brick is just so he doesn't come after me. So that I can survive. And I never 'killed' anybody. the shiv is for show and to disable people from time to time. I'm trying to stay off the path I was on once before. I've changed."

"You're a criminal Turner! People like you always go back down that path. People like YOU will look for any opportunity to stab us in the back! To get out of places like this!"

"If you knew why I even did those things in the first place, why I even became who I was, you would be just a little more sympathetic! Your friends, John and Lyla, sure are!"

Oliver doesn't say another word, looking surprised by what Turner said. William is as well.

"What do you mean John and Lyla are sympathetic to you?"

Turner smirks. "When I was in the Suicide Squad, on that mission in Markovia, Lyla and I were cornered by a terrorist leader. He was about to slit her throat, but I stabbed him right in the back. I could've chosen to leave her to die, but I didn't."

"They never told me this."

"Probably because they had the same mindset you have. That I'm a criminal. The enemy. The thing with you is that you often see morality in black and white. Don't pretend you haven't done bad things just to survive."

Red Arrow clasps his hands together to get their attention. "Okay! We've established trust. Are we done?"

Oliver nods. "Let's go."

"Actually, not just yet. Hold on." He quickly walks to the doorway and grabs the bag that he remembered he placed down in fear that having it on would hinder his aim somehow. He places it on the table. "This is for you."

Oliver quickly unzips it. He looks astounded at what it contains. He slowly takes out the recurve bow that Red Arrow had been using during his time as the Green Arrow. He then takes out the quiver containing arrows that Oliver is familiar with and some that will be new to him.

"I would've brought the suit, but I didn't have it washed prior."

Oliver slings the quiver over his shoulder. "You can brief me on the new arrows on the way." He looks to Red Arrow and Turner. "Let's go catch a Dragon."

* * *

A guilt-ridden John enters the van that Felicity is in. She is currently focused on the laptop lent to her by the Red Arrow, which gives her access to his time cameras.

"Felicity-"

"I know." Her voice is somewhat filled with dread. The look in her eyes as she turns to John shows that same feeling. "I saw."

Not wanting to dwell on it any further, he says, "Tell me we at least have some good news."

Her dread is eroded by the smirk on her face. "Indeed, we do. Gre—um, Red Arrow found Oliver. They and Turner are heading out to save the hostages."

"Turner?"

"Yeah. He gave them some story about—"

She stops speaking and her smirk slowly disappears. She can probably tell from the look on John's face that he isn't surprised at all by Turner offering help.

"It's true? Turner did save Lyla in Markovia?"

John reluctantly nods. "Lyla told me about it after the mission. We pushed to give him a second chance, keep him on ARGUS. But he had to go to a Max Security Prison. No exceptions. But if Nightwatch takes off, he can have that chance"

Felicity points to the screen that is following the three men, directly to Turner. "This guy hired Chyna White to kill Oliver, not to mention smuggled that destroyed half the Glades! How can one act of—"

" **You have family."**

Oliver's voice turns Felicity's attention to the screen, which shows the group just walking down one dimly lit corridor after another.

" **You may behave differently, but I know that someone like you stays here for one reason. If a family member is involved."**

Ben Turner sighs. **"You're right. My son, Ben Jr. Everything I earn goes to him. School, food. Even new housing for him and his mom to get away from his old, dangerous neighborhood. When I wasn't doing my job, I would visit him, maybe play some football with him. When my time in the Suicide Squad was over, I had to come here to serve my sentence. They said if I escaped, my sentence would last a lifetime and I would never see him again. There isn't anything I can do besides count the days until I get out of here. What keeps me going is that he's visiting me, letting me know how his week his. It assures me that he's safe and staying strong."**

Their conversation is cut short when Red Arrow points out that they are nearing the entrance to the upstairs cell block. Though John can't see what Felicity is feeling, she probably feels the same way John did when he went through Turner's file: sympathetic and a bit ashamed. John and Lyla know what it is like to do anything for their child, make sure J.J got the best that they could offer. And, judging from everything that has happened after these past 6 months, so does Felicity.

"I'll—I'll let you know if anything changes."

John sees that Felicity does not want to talk any further.

"Alright. Let us know when things change."

John exits the vehicle to get ready to move in.

* * *

Brick can hear Sampson impatiently tapping on the rail bar as they wait on the top balcony. They can see at least a dozen criminals down there waiting at the bottom entrance to the hole, waiting to stop Oliver Queen and the Red Arrow when they came. He and Sampson wait by the door next to them in case they try to go that route instead.

Suddenly, the bottom doors begin to open. Brick takes out the pistol given to him by Diaz and prepares to take a shot. Sampson leans on the railing, smiling eagerly.

For some reason, though, none of the other prisoners prepare to fight. They just stare at the opening door with confusion or surprise. Brick eventually sees why when the person stepping out from the doorway is not Oliver Queen or the Red Arrow. It's Ben Turner, who is supposed to be in the Hole.

Turner looks up and waves. "Hey Brick! Hell of a group you have here! You been recruiting while I was away?!"

Brick is a bit confused himself. "How'd you get out of your cell?!"

"How did you get out of yours?!"

Brick wants to believe that Turner is here on his own, but Diaz warned them of a third person with Queen and the new vigilante. Though, Turner would never team up with them. Brick knows this.

"Well, get up here! We're giving Queen and the new vigilante a warm welcome before they can get to Diaz!"

* * *

Oliver and Red Arrow get into position just as Turner is walking past the inmates and up the stairs. William looks at his gauntlet screen, seeing through the bug that just jumped off Turner and onto a railing with a good view of the whole room.

"There's at least a dozen on the bottom floor. Only Brick and Sampson are on the top balcony."

Oliver shoots the explosive arrow onto the ceiling as he asks, "Any weapons?"

"Three with knives. Three with clubs. Brick is the only one with a gun. So, basically, nothing we can't handle." Red Arrow scoffs. "Diaz is slipping so much, even his strategies are flawed. None of them expect Turner to be on our side."

"Well, let's hope he stays that way after this. Arrow's ready."

Red Arrow taps into a menu while keeping the camera on.

"Ready your grapple arrow."

Oliver takes out his arrow while Red Arrow keeps looking at the screen, one half showing a button to detonate the ceiling above and another showing the camera. Turner is nearing Brick, who lets his guard down.

"NOW!"

* * *

On cue, a part of the floor break just at the edge of where the criminals are. It shocks everyone except Turner, who knew that this was going to happen. Out of the hole come ropes with grapples that attach to the ceiling, followed by the Red Arrow and Oliver Queen, who take them up and reach the top balcony.

Turner, who sees Brick about to aim a pistol at them, quickly pins the gun arm and punches him in the face. Turner quickly pushes Brick up to the wall and twists the wrist, forcing his former partner to let go of the gun.

Turner then looks Brick in the eye and gives a wide grin. "Been waiting a long time for this."

Turner hears Sampson charging at him. He quickly sidekicks Sampson's stomach, throws Turner onto the floor, and knee strikes Sampson in the stomach to disorient him.

Red Arrow and Oliver, meanwhile, shoot minor sleeping gas arrows at the ground where more criminals are bunched up. The inmates, still in shock from the explosion, do not react fast enough. Those not in the radius of the crawling gas eventually step away or run back while the others are put to sleep.

The gas dissipates after a few seconds, leaving a little more than half of the inmates asleep. The rest run up to reach the stairs.

Red Arrow quickly yells to Oliver, "Block off the stairs!"

Oliver quickly runs to where the stairs while he and Red Arrow shoot concussion arrows to take down as many as they can before they reached the top of the stairs. Eventually, the only two left are ones with a club and the other with a knife.

Red Arrow jumps down the stairs, grabbing the attention of the knife inmate. The knife inmate swings for the neck. Red Arrow ducks, giving him an opening for a cross to the stomach. With the knife inmate lurching down, Red Arrow grabs him and throws him down the stairs and he rolls to the bottom. The knife inmate struggles to get up, but Red Arrow shoots a concussion arrow at his head, knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Oliver deflects the attacks of the club inmate until they reach the top. When the club inmate comes in with a vertical attack, Oliver blocks and redirects it so the hand slams into the railing, which forces the inmate to let the club go. Oliver then jabs the stomach with his bow's blunt end, grabs his head, and slams it on the railing.

Turner is still managing Brick and Sampson, focusing on the one closest to him and switching from time to time while keeping the other away with kicks to the gut or head. But they are starting to get more aggressive, coming in closer by the minute. He needed to isolate them quickly.

Turns out, he didn't need to. As Brick is about to charge in again, a rope arrow latches onto his shirt and pulls him away. He is forced off the balcony and drops until he is hovering just above the 1st floor. With him out of the way, Turner clenches Sampson's neck and back. He forces Sampson to the wall, knee striking and hooking him as best as he can until even Sampson's Star drug is unable to keep Sampson standing.

With each hit, adrenaline rushes through his veins. Turner has never felt so alive, beating up somebody like Sampson, someone who had power over him. He sees an opportunity to take out a future nuisance and enforce fear on Brick. Turner decides that he will keep hitting Sampson until he is pulp. He lets go of Sampson and gets ready to kick him in the face.

"Turner!"

He turns to Oliver, who scolds at him. "You told me that you're more than just some petty criminal. Prove it!"

Turner looks back at Sampson, who tries to get up, but doesn't have much energy to do so. All he can do is moan in pain and look up with frightened eyes. With the adrenaline subsiding, Turner's perspective changes. For once, he doesn't see Sampson as a threat. He sees Sampson as a coward, maybe even the coward he always was. To him, there was nothing to gain from hurting a coward like him.

He takes a step back and extends a hand. "Do what you have to."

Red Arrow walks up and shoots a net arrow to keep Sampson restrained.

Suddenly, they hear the opening and closing of a door downstairs. They look down to find any missing persons. They look to where Brick is supposed to be, seeing only a ripped piece of cloth attached to the grapple arrow.

Turner clenches his fist. "Damn it!"

"Don't worry. We caught him before, and he won't get far." Oliver starts to head back down the stairs. "Right now, we have to stop Diaz!"

"Hold on!" Red Arrow grabs Oliver's shoulder. "The mess hall is going to be a tighter space with possibly more inmates. Not to mention that Diaz has hostages and will take our bows away once he has us."

"No." Oliver points to the Red Arrow. "He only expects ONE OF US with a bow."

After a moment, The Red Arrow nods, understanding what Oliver is implying. Turner catches on as they both turn to him. He already knows what they are going to ask him to do.

* * *

Diaz looks from the control room at the lovely spectacle going on downstairs in the mess hall. The inmates who were once defenseless and obedient are now beating on their former masters with clubs. After so many beatings, the guards become bloodier by the minute now, not enough to bleed to death though. A couple of them have passed out while the others still scream in pain.

There is just one thing that is making him enjoy this even more. It has been some time now. Neither Danny Brick or Derek Sampson have come back with Oliver Queen or his future brat. To him, it means one thing: They fought their way through the first set of defenses and are making their way here now. This will only make Diaz's victory sweeter when he makes them suffer, making their efforts worth nothing.

Before that, though, Diaz needs to do one more thing. He turns and walks to the junction box that connects to all the electrical devices in the prison. He places a device that the Deacon's spies planted here before he dispatched them. It is one last gift from the Longbow Hunters that, when placed, allows him to tap into the electrical grid easily and, if need be, overload the system. It will start fires all over the prison and have the potential to burn down the prison, providing both a distraction while the Deacon executes his plan and graves for those that remain here.

"Diaz!"

The voice of Oliver Queen echoing across the Mess Hall makes Diaz smirk.

 _It's time._

Diaz heads out of the control room. He sees Oliver Queen and Will—wait, 'Red Arrow' just walking from the entrance towards the center of the room. The inmates surround them immediately. For some reason, there is no third person with them. However, Diaz ignores the fact, thinking that the inmate was a coward who wanted no part of the action.

Diaz jumps down to the ground floor. As he walks to the vigilante duo, he points to the Red Arrow. "Take his bow and quiver."

A couple of inmates take the quiver and bow from Red Arrow, who shows no resistance. Diaz guesses that they know their defeat was inevitable in the end.

Oliver speaks up, "Diaz. Let the hostages go. This is between US."

Diaz, instead of replying to Oliver, looks to the Red Arrow. "You wanna know why I despise my real name?" Diaz paces as he speaks. "When I met my father in prison, when I killed him…I did it out of mercy. He was a junkie, a weakling who was left as a decoy by his own criminal organization. I killed him because he begged me to, because death was a better alternative for him than to live in damnation. I swore then that I would never be put in that same position. I would be someone else. SOMETHING else."

He changes direction, walking towards Oliver until he is about arm's length. Diaz snarls at him. "And you…"

Diaz delivers a straight lead punch to Oliver's face hard enough to force him to the ground. Red Arrow tries to step in, but Diaz yells, "STOP!" He points at the guards tied by their wrists and hanging from the railing. The inmates prepare to deliver blows to the head that will cause severe trauma or death. The Red Arrow stops himself, slowly but reluctantly stepping back.

Diaz looks down at Oliver and grins. "I always wanted to do that."

As Oliver slowly gets up, Diaz takes a couple of steps back. "You both took EVERYTHING from me. My chance to take over Star City. My chance to be the most SUCCESSFUL criminal in history. MY CHANCE to be the person I! WANTED! TO! BE!" He points to Red Arrow. "AND YOU…struck that final blow."

He then points to Oliver. "So, I'll make you watch as I punch Oliver TO A PULP. Then…" Diaz guides his finger across his neck. "I'll slit his throat. Once I see you suffer, go down that abyss, when you FEEL how I do now…I'll let you die with him. So, before I begin, any last words you wanna say to him?"

Red Arrow, for some reason, smirks. "One. NOW!"

Suddenly, Diaz hears footsteps above him. He looks up to see Ben Turner, an inmate who is supposed to be in the Hole, throw down a bow to Oliver, who catches it and uses it to strike Diaz in the face. Without his mirakuru strength, the strike knocks Diaz to the ground.

* * *

 _Diaz is down for the moment. The other inmates will react. First, throw smoke pellets to disorient._

Before the criminals get a chance to tackle them, Red Arrow disperses smoke bombs hidden in his gauntlets and throws them at the inmates closest to them and the ones near the hostages. As the smoke disperses, Red Arrow and Oliver take a deep breath in, so they don't inhale the smoke and become disoriented. Oliver steps back from the smoke so his eyes don't suffer any effects as well. Red Arrow doesn't since the lenses shield his eyes.

 _Next objective: Retrieve bow and quiver. Keep moves minimal to reduce loss of air._

Red Arrow turns to the two inmates with his bow and quiver, who are coughing from the smoke. He takes the hand gripping the bow and pulls the person holding it over to the side. With the inmate unbalanced, Red Arrow employs a wrist throw. As the inmate falls, his grip on the bow loosens, allowing Red Arrow to take it easily.

With one down, Red Arrow turns back around. He grabs the quiver that the other inmate is holding, pulls it towards him along with the man, and hits him in the head with his bow. After the inmate is unconscious, he quickly slings the quiver over him.

 _Next objective: get out of smoke and into an ideal position._

Red Arrow quickly walks through the now fading smoke cloud, being sure not to touch any inmates so they are not aware of where he is. As he passes them, He can see Turner running to the railing where the hostages are hanging from, readying his shiv to cut them down. Eventually, Red Arrow makes it out of the smoke cloud and exhales quietly, which prompts Oliver to take some of them down with his bow.

 _Ideal position found. Now to secure hostages._

Red Arrow turns his attention to the hostages and the inmates in front of them, who are still slightly coughing from the smoke. Quickly, Red Arrow proceeds to neutralize the inmates with concussion arrows. When he takes out the 3rd inmate, he notices the fourth has recovered and takes the hostage in front of him by the collar. The inmate raises his club behind him slowly. Reacting quickly, Red Arrow takes out a regular arrow and shoots it at the edge of the inmate's hand. The sharp edge of the arrowhead nicks a bit of the hand, but the pain and cut forces the inmate to let go of the club. Red Arrow quickly rushes in and employs a push kick to knock the inmate down.

With all 4 inmates down, Turner cuts the ropes of the hostages and they land on the floor. a few of them get up or struggle to while others lay there, still breathing but unconscious or just unable to stand.

Red Arrow cuts the restraints of the standing guards. "Get your guys out of here and head for the front entrance! We'll hold them off! Go!"

The guards do as they are told, gathering their fallen and helping up those who are still conscious before heading outside the Mess Hall. All the while, Red Arrow fends off the inmates that are coming his way to ensure their escape.

* * *

Seeing what is enfolding, Felicity gets on her comm. "John, hostages are getting out."

" **Copy that. All Agents! We have our green light!"**

Felicity becomes worried. "Wait, wait, wait! What about the jammer? I won't be able to contact you until it's disposed of."

" **We don't have time! We'll keep formation, but we need to secure the hostages now!"**

The comm switches off. Felicity sighs to herself. "I hope you guys know what you're doing."

* * *

Red Arrow push kicks one inmate to a table and right hooks another. He parry's a series of jabs from a third inmate and steps back until he gets close to a wall. When they are close enough, he ducks under the jab, the inmate's fist punching the cemented wall. While the inmate grabs his knuckles, Red Arrow swoops in and maneuvers behind him, grabs the inmate by the stomach, shifts them in Oliver's direction, and performs a modified suplex throw which, instead of throwing him to the floor, throws him towards an inmate that almost got the jump on Oliver.

"Red Arrow!" He looks up and sees Turner at the entrance to the control room. "I could use some help with this!"

Red Arrow turns to Oliver, who has several knocked out inmates around him and is ready to take on more who are getting up. "You got this?!"

"I do! GO!"

Red Arrow runs to the center of the room and shoots a grapple arrow as he does. It pulls him towards the railing, which he grabs onto and jumps over.

Turner heads inside with Red Arrow following behind. When they get inside, Red Arrow takes note of his surroundings. To his right are computers that handle the prison cell doors, cameras, and communications. On the communications terminal is the jammer. To his left is the main power box that has a device on it that has a glowing red light.

Turner points to the device, asking, "Is this the jamming thing?"

Red Arrow shakes his head, recognizing it almost immediately. "No, It's far worse. It's a device that can short out the power grid and everything connected to it. With this, he can bring this whole place down!"

"Can you disarm it?"

"I think I can. Go help Oliver. Now!"

As Turner runs out of the room, Red Arrow runs to the device and opens it up, seeing the setup he is familiar with. A bunch of wires connected to a rectangular metal object. Each wire cut correctly will reduce the effects of the device and, eventually, when he removes the metal object afterwards, null them entirely. He takes out one of his arrows and goes to work, slowly remembering which wire to cut first.

Oliver, meanwhile, takes down two more guys seamlessly with strikes to the head with his bow. He then takes out a couple of concussion arrows and takes down more inmates trying to get up.

Just when it seems like everyone had been neutralized, Oliver feels someone tackle him down to the ground. As he regains focus, Diaz is about to land a punch which Oliver blocks. Then another. They eventually turn into a flurry that Oliver has a hard time blocking. He tries to grab the next punch but gets hit in the face instead.

Diaz stops blocking for a moment and yells, "Come on! You can take all these inmates on but not me?!"

Oliver goes back to blocking, the punches becoming faster and harder until he finds himself unable to block any longer. His arms fall to the floor

Diaz laughs maniacally. "Prison has made you weak!" Diaz stops punching and takes out a shiv from his pocket, his smile showing his gritting teeth. "Which will make this easier!"

As Diaz readies himself to plunge the knife into Oliver. He is stopped by Turner, who grabs his arms and pulls them away. Oliver quickly shrimps his ways out and is about to kick Diaz. However, as the leg extends, Diaz pulls down hard and leans towards the ground, leaving Turner in his place. The kick hits Turner's face, forcing him off Diaz.

Realizing this, Oliver gets up quickly. Diaz charges again. This time, he grabs Oliver's bow and swings them both around in a half circle. Diaz then employs a front kick to Oliver's face, forcing him to let go of the bow and sends him staggering back.

As Turner gets up and Oliver regains his posture, they see Diaz retreat, probably knowing that he is outnumbered. However, he does not go for the door. He stops when he reaches a pillar with power coils attached to it. He dislodges them with the bow and rips them apart with his hands.

"You survived this far, but you will die!" He holds up the coils in front of him. "Even if that means I need to send you all STRAIGHT TO HELL!"

He puts the coils together, but purposefully touches the wrong wires.

Red Arrow, who has cut off the wires and is about to remove the metal object, hears a computer voice say, "System override. System override." He looks at the computers, that say the same thing in all capital letters. He has run out of time.

"Oh crud!"

He runs out of the room immediately and jumps down to the ground floor. What follows is a series of small explosions from everything electrical in the room, which are mainly the lights and coils opposite from Oliver and Turner. Small fires spread out on the railings and floor, but not very far.

Red Arrow pushes Oliver and Turner against the wall. "Get down!"

They crouch down and shield themselves from the explosions happening around them.

While the chaos unfolds, Diaz heads upstairs and escapes to the second-floor balcony of the cell block.

* * *

As Felicity watches Diaz put two wires together, the time camera screens go black.

"No." She clicks the mouse frantically. "No, no, no, no, no! Come on! COME ON!"

" **Overwatch, do you read me?! Overwatch, this is Red Arrow. Do you read me?!"**

Upon hearing the assuring voice of Red Arrow, Felicity immediately responds. "Yes! Yes, I'm here. Are you okay?"

" **We're fine."**

"William, the time cameras just died! What's happening in there?!"

" **Dragon."**

* * *

"He overrode the prison's electrical grid. The mess hall lights just blew up and electrical fires are spreading."

" **Same thing for us."**

"John, is that you? You're inside already?"

" **We came in as soon as you got the hostages out. They're outside now and we're clearing the place room by room. But the electrical fires are making it hard to get into some places, even with fire extinguishers."**

"That's fine. We'll stop Dragon and meet up with you."

" **You may have to reprioritize. At the pace we're going, we'll never get to the Level 2 prisoners in the bus outside. Two agents are on standby, but we need you to go with them and make sure no one has escaped."**

"John, I'm not going to abandon—"

Red Arrow feels a hand on his shoulder pad. He hears Oliver whisper, "William." Red Arrow turns around and faces Oliver. "Whatever it is they need you to do, do it. I'll go after Diaz."

Red Arrow shakes his head. "You can't face him alone!"

Oliver motions his head to Turner. "I have backup."

Red Arrow looks up to the door Diaz escaped from and then back to Oliver. His doubts battle over what should take priority. Helping Oliver stop Diaz is the most tempting suggestion because it will ensure that Oliver lives. Though, in the span of time that it will take to fight him, even if it is quick, the Level 2 prisoners might find a way to escape. They may not be very smart, but they are smart enough to find a way out. Or, more likely, the Ninth Circle is taking advantage of the chaos to get their potential recruits out and start over. Also, Turner has proven to be of great help so far. Red Arrow sees no reason why he would betray them now.

"If I secure the bus and don't hear back from anyone about you, I'm coming back."

Oliver and Turner begin to run for the stairs. Before Oliver gets far, though, Red Arrow grabs him by the arm and pulls him aside.

"Even if the temptation is great, don't kill Dragon. There is still a line that shouldn't be crossed."

Oliver nods. "I know."

As the two of them make their way up to where Diaz went, Red Arrow gets on the comm to Felicity. "Overwatch, tell me where the Level 2 Prisoners are."

" **Their bus is in the second arrival and departure place. Without the time cameras, I can't confirm if anyone left or not."**

"I'm on my way."

Red Arrow runs out of the room quickly to prevent the Level 2 prisoners from possibly escaping.

* * *

Diaz walks through the exit and finds himself on the second-floor balcony. He sees almost every light spewing fires onto the bottom of the railings or onto the floor. Knowing that the other three won't be far behind, he decides to put himself in a place that he knows he can see all his flanks, front and side. He runs up the stairs until he reaches the highest floor. There, he finds a beat-up Sampson trying to break free from a net that has trapped him to the wall.

Diaz walks up to him and kneels. "Queen and his new buddies are on their way. Help me fight them off and I'll get you out of this net."

Sampson just scowls at him. "You said you would show us the way out of this hellhole. Instead, Brick left and you're burning the entire place to the ground! It's clear to me that you're just feeding me to the hounds. So, SCREW YOU!"

Disappointed by Sampson's unwillingness to cooperate, he stands up. "Fine. I won't feed you to the hounds.'" Diaz turns around and extends the bow he took from Oliver into an electrical fire. He then throws it onto Sampson. "I'll just draw the moths to the flame."

Sampson moves around frantically to get the bow off him, but it is too late. The fire catches onto his clothes. He screams as the fire spreads over him.

* * *

As Oliver and Turner exit the Mess Hall, they hear screaming up above them. The voice is a familiar one. Oliver recognizes it as a scream like the one Sampson made when Oliver and William dislocated both of Sampson's arms in the fighting ring a while ago. This one, however, sounds more like a fearful scream.

"Upstairs. Come on Turner!"

Oliver runs to the stairs, with Turner following behind. As they make their way up, the screams become more and more faint until the only sound is that of the electrical fires around the facility.

When they get to the top, they see a burned-up Sampson leaning against the wall. Though, there were no signs of any fires that could've jumped onto him from where he is. Though, looking at it more carefully, Oliver can see the quickly diminishing remains of the bow leant to him by William.

He turns to Turner and whispers, "Diaz was here. Be on your guard."

Oliver slowly makes his way up. As he reaches the top of the steps, he feels himself getting kicked to his side, which hurls him away from his intended destination and to the floor. The pain in his hip makes it hard for him to get up. As he does, he sees Turner try to stab Diaz with a shiv. Diaz, however, grabs the arm, throws Turner onto a column and headbutts him. Diaz then takes Turner's arm and jams a shiv of his own into Turner's palm. Turner's screams are cut short when Diaz hook punches him in the face.

Oliver gets up with help from the railing and assumes a fighting position. Diaz takes the shiv Turner had from his hand and then slowly walks to Oliver. Diaz growls and sneers and he gets closer. "I…have come so far…to kill you…and I not going to let HIM…a bunch of WASHED UP VIGILANTES…or your THORN of a son…get in the way of it now!"

Diaz comes in with a series of stabs and swings, many of which Oliver can parry and dodge, but only barely. He can feel fatigue getting the best of him. Fatigue from this week's past events. From evading capture and fighting off inmates. Also, he can tell that his skills are not up to par, for his defense is sloppy compared to how he was as the Green Arrow.

Eventually, he misses a parry, giving Diaz an opportunity to employ a horizontal strike that cuts Oliver's shoulder. Even with the pain he feels, he tries to keep his defense up. Though, his senses are waning too. The next strike, which Oliver thought to be a stab to the stomach, was a faint into a kick to the leg that forces him down on his knee.

Diaz kneels, switches to a reverse grip, and goes for the side of the head. However, Oliver is quick to react, blocking and grabbing the arm. He stands them both up, moves Diaz's arm over the railing, and employs a hammer fist on the back hand to successfully disarm the shiv. It then plummets to the ground floor, though it does not break.

Diaz, who looks to be getting angrier by the second, breaks Oliver's hold of his arm, grabs him, and throws him to the wall. He then employs a kick which Oliver fails to block. As Oliver bends down in pain, Diaz grabs him and throws him over the railing.

Oliver, with what reflex he has, grabs the railing quickly. However, Diaz kicks Oliver's fingers, forcing him to let go. As Oliver falls, he tries to grab onto something, which only hurts his fingers more. He manages to grab the first-floor railing, but the speed at which he was going at nearly pops his shoulder. He screams in agonizing pain, his body refusing to try to climb over. He can see Diaz jump over the top floor railing and down to his position. When Diaz gets next to him, he grabs Oliver by the shirt and tosses him further away.

Oliver lands back first onto the floor. Everything hurts at this point. His body doesn't even have the energy to stand without support. Diaz has the advantage. There isn't anything Oliver can do to stop him at this point.

 _Unless…_

He looks to where he remembers the shiv he disarmed from Diaz landed. It is just in reach. Oliver just needs to crawl to it.

Just then, Diaz lands just a few feet away from Oliver. With what energy he has left, Oliver crawls to the shiv. Diaz follows, not laying a finger on him just yet.

"Get up."

 _Just a little more._

With one last crawl, Oliver grabs the shiv, disguising his movement as a desperate attempt to crawl away. He looks back to Diaz, who shoots out his leg and kicks Oliver towards the pillar behind him.

"I said get up!"

Oliver, with as much strength as he can muster, presses up against the pillar, leaning on the side where he holds his dagger in order to keep it concealed. He pushes up with his legs and uses his free hand to climb up to get back up to his feet.

Diaz laughs. "That's it! I want to tell your family that you at least died fighting…for this."

Oliver looks to see what Diaz means. To his surprise and anger, it is the photo of Felicity and younger William. The photo that Oliver kept throughout his time in prison.

"Give…that…back!"

Diaz just chuckles and turns the photo so he can see it. "I always kept the photo of my father before I burned it along with everything else. Not because I loved him. But because I told myself I would burn it when I knew I had risen above him. When I became BETTER than him." He turns the photo to Oliver again. "When I kill you…" he points to the picture. "…and them, I'll burn this photo to show everyone that I have risen above you. To show That I killed Star City's final hope. That I! KILLED! THE GREEN ARROW!"

Diaz then winds up for a punch.

 _Now!_

As the punch comes in, Oliver ducks under it and stabs the arm. Diaz screams in pain, retracts his fist, and lets go of the photo.

Quickly, Oliver grabs Diaz and throws him against the pillar. Oliver headbutts Diaz a couple of times before throwing him to the floor. Oliver kneels and, using everything he's got, slams Diaz onto the floor again and again and again. Seeing that Diaz is nearing unconsciousness, Oliver lets out a yell before he hook punches Diaz in the face, finishing the battle once and for all.

Oliver breathes heavily after the fight. They slowly become calmer with each breath. He feels that most of his energy is spent and his injuries are taking their toll. With what little he has left, he grabs his picture and leans against the column.

He holds the picture to his chest and lets out a weak but joyful laugh. "I'm coming home. I'm coming home."

"Oliver?! Are you in here?!"

He can hear John's voice from the northern end of the cell block. He slowly raises his hand out from the column, showing everyone where he is. He can hear multiple footsteps running in his direction. Coming from the corner of the column are John, who quickly kneels to him and examines him, and a few ARGUS Agents who handcuff the now unconscious Diaz.

"Oliver! Are you alright?"

Oliver smiles, struggling to catch his breath. "I…I did it, John. I did it."

John probably recognizes this, but doesn't respond. He just lifts Oliver up, ready to get out of here.

"Turner…upstairs…needs help."

John turns his head to the agents. "One of you find Ben Turner upstairs and get him to a medic. Now!"

One of the agents does as asked, running towards the stairs.

"Red Arrow. Overwatch. I have Oliver. He's going to be fine."

John helps Oliver walk towards the exit. As they slowly make their way there, Oliver continues to keep the photo close to his chest, repeating the same words in his mind.

 _I'm coming home. I'm coming home._

* * *

Brick finally makes it to the morgue which, with everything that is going on right now, is his only way of getting out of here. Though he kind of regrets leaving Sampson here, he knew that he can find another brute that can serve as a hustler. In fact, there are hundreds.

Brick walks over to the chute.

 _Freedom, here I—_

"What are you doing here?"

Brick turns around, seeing Oliver's little companion, Stanley. His stare is a bit unsettling for Brick, but he looks past that, remembering the coward that he is.

"I'd ask you the same question."

Stanley says nothing. He just walks up to Brick. Still, Brick saw nothing suspicious about it.

"Turns out you don't need to be dead to get out through the mor—"

Suddenly, Stanley's hand, which has been behind him since coming into the room, shoots out and goes across his body. Brick feels something in his throat, as if he just lost his ability to breathe. He grips it with both hands, feeling a deep cut.

Stanley raises his arm back, showing a knife in his hand. He grins mischievously and sarcastically says, "Actually…I think you do."

Brick then collapses to his knees, the lack of air turning his legs to noodles. He reaches out to try and grab Stanley. Though, reaching out only makes Brick fall to the floor. There is nothing he can do. No one is there to help him. All he can do is watch as Stanley climbs through the chute as his life diminishes minute by minute.

* * *

John and Oliver limp to the front gate, which is occupied with trucks, inmates being watched by ARGUS agents, and the hostages he saved with Turner and William. As they pass by, the guards nod to them or give a thumbs up as a way of thanking Oliver for saving them. Oliver smirks and gives a small nod in return.

As he looks back forward, he sees Felicity waiting for him at the edge of where the perimeter of vehicles end. He takes his arm away from John and shrugs him away. He wants to do this himself.

Oliver, with some of his strength back, limps to Felicity. She begins to walk towards him, a smile on her lips and tears beginning to well up in her eyes. As they come closer together, Felicity gives Oliver the first real hug he has gotten in 6 months. He slowly brings his arms up to hug back. He feels as though he is melting into her, her touch feeling much more satisfying than the memory of it he tried to evoke every day or when he tried to touch her hand on the glass of the phone booth.

"Dad!"

Oliver hears a familiar, young voice in the distance. He looks up and sees something he never thought he'd see for a while. William, Young William, in the flesh, with his head out of the window of a limo that is just pulling up to the facility. Seeing William with the widest smile he ever had as he got out brought Oliver more joy than he has felt in a long while.

Felicity steps away and to the side as William runs up to them. Oliver kneels, even though it hurts to do so. William rushes in with a hug, which Oliver returns. Oliver buries his head into William's shoulder, tears rolling from his eyes. Tears of joy, like the ones he shed when hugging the apparition of Older William.

They don't say a thing. They just live this moment, which is the happiest one that Oliver has experienced.

* * *

Red Arrow watches as ARGUS Agents escort Dragon, who's hands and feet are chained, into the now secure bus. Due to all the chaos caused by him, they felt that he would be more secure at ARGUS than a max security prison that is now on the verge of shutting down due to its poor performance and controversy this past month.

The whole walk to the bus, Dragon glares at Red Arrow and slowly clenches his fist. No words are said, but Red Arrow has a pretty good idea what he would say. Cliché lines such as "This isn't over," or "When I get out, I'll kill you and everyone you love." But since he is going to one of the most secure places in the world and with his name and face finally being revealed to the world, the odds of things like those happening are minimal at best.

One of the agents pushes Dragon forward and orders him onto the bus. The last thing Red Arrow hears from Dragon is faint angry mummering before the doors close behind them. A few seconds later, the bus rolls out and is on its…

 _Wait. What's that?_

As the bus got to the exit, Red Arrow sees some blue shimmering on the bottom of it. He turns on his detective vision but finds that he can't see anything except the blue silhouettes of the unarmed prisoners and bus driver and the red figures of the armed guards in there with them. Though, he catches the blue shimmer again, but it disappears quickly.

 _Oh no! That's optic-deflection camo!_

Red Arrow taps on his ear and contacts the bus driver. "Bus Driver! This is Red Arrow! I need you to stop the bus immediately and evacuate everyone off!" He hears no reply. "Red Arrow to Bus Driver! Do you read me?!" Still no one responds.

 _Dang it! There's no time!_

Red Arrow runs out of the facility and in the direction of the bus.

* * *

Despite Diaz's immense anger towards the Queens, to the people who degraded him to a common thug, it is suppressed by a single thought. He sees every Level 2 prisoner on this bus unharmed. There are no signs that they were even once scratched by the Deacon's sword.

Though, he does see one commonality between all of them. They're all scared. They shake, silently pray, or close their eyes and face the floor. He even spots one inmate with a tear on his face.

 _What the hell is happening here?_

As an ARGUS Agent passes, an inmate next to Diaz taps his shoulder to get his attention. He turns around and sees a note in the inmate's hand. It shakes so uncontrollably that Diaz had to force the note out of the man's hand quickly. The inmate then grabs Diaz's wrist.

"H-he said…he said he w-w-would kill people we loved if…if we didn't go through with this."

The man then cries, but he tries his best not to sob. Diaz opens the note.

" _You have made your choice, my child. Now your fate is everlasting damnation."_

"Stop the bus!"

The distant noise of William's alter ego catches the attention of the guard, who walks to the back of the bus. But that didn't matter now. Diaz has finally put the pieces together. He knows what is about to happen next.

Diaz sits back in his seat. He has been set up by the one person he never expected. Someone he thought would never let go of him, treated him like a son. And now the Deacon shows no restraint in burning the past down.

Diaz smirks. "Well played."

* * *

The bomb on the bus detonates. The explosive attached to it ensures that everyone inside is killed, including Ricardo. As it does, William shields himself from the blast. When things settle down and William lowers his arms, his jaw hangs there, and his breathing becomes frenzied.

" _God. I know you sit on your throne in Heaven above, watching this moment. I know you judge me for what I have done. I regret the loss of Ricardo, one of the greatest warriors that I have ever trained._

The Deacon, who is watching all of this from a tree in the forest, bows his head and places his mask upon his chest as a sign of respect. He takes a deep breath to grieve. But he does not let it consume him. Now is not the time to mourn for a lost sheep.

" _But he had made his choice, just as those he has joined in damnation had."_

Knowing that William will search the woods soon, the Deacon walks away, putting his mask back on as he does.

" _With him and those sinners erased, I am now free to continue the mission that St. Dismas laid out for us. To do what Ricardo could not. To do what you are unwilling to do. What I had planned for years. I shall destroy Star City at last. No more delays. No one to stand in my way. Then, I shall go on to render the world into smoke and ash so your son will be forced to walk the Earth again and judge the living and the dead. This I promise as the last Deacon of the Holy St. Dismas. So…says…Joseph Blackfire."_

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Hello Readers! Sorry that this one took longer to post, but it's been kind of hectic for me these past couple of weeks. Just as a heads up, it may take a bit longer to upload the next chapter. But I am not giving up!

Anyways, thank you for reading. Be sure to leave a review and click the favorite button if you are liking the story so far. Also, be sure to click the follow button on both the story and my account if you haven't already so you don't miss a chapter. Once again, thank you and have a great day.


	10. Episode 9: Faith

**Author's notes:** Hello Readers! Just to let everyone know in advance, at the end of the chapter is an announcement of what direction I will be taking for my future stories, so I highly recommend reading it afterwards. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Edit:** Changed one of the names that I got wrong. Thank you to one of the guest reviewers for pointing out my error.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** Based on references and characters made by both DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy.

* * *

Episode 9: Faith

* * *

William opens his eyes, feeling more refreshed than he has been in his entire life. His breath is steady. He hasn't panicked out of his sleep. He has been having the same dream this entire week. The dream of him, Oliver, Felicity, and Mia. All of them living in a house together, talking about their day. He feels that this dream will come true now that his father is out of jail and living with Felicity again. Now all William has to do is stop the Ninth Circle. And find Mia.

He sits up and rubs his eyes, giving himself a little time to wake up. As his mind becomes more focused, he can see a memory that feels like it has happened a long ago but is happening right now. His younger self is nearly done cooking a couple of omelets for them both, a way of saying thanks before he had to leave.

Feeling ready, Older William walks out of the bedroom of his new apartment. In Actuality, it is the apartment he and his family used to live in before it got attacked by Diaz. He heads towards the familiar, condensed kitchen area, where Younger William is setting the omelets and a couple of forks on plates.

He hears the footsteps of Older William and looks up with a smile. "Hey! Morning."

"Morning."

Hearing the gruffness in Older William's voice, Young William immediately hands the omelet to him.

"Thanks."

Older William takes his fork and cuts off a good chunk of the omelet and gently blows on it as to cool it down before eating. While it is still a bit hot on the tongue, the taste of it is divine. He can detect small bits of Canadian bacon and spinach which adds more flavor on top of the melted cheese.

Older William moans slightly, the memories of the delicacies he cooked flooding through his mind. "Oh…gosh! I forgot how good of a cook I was."

"You mean I forget how to cook?"

Older William shakes his head as he and his younger self head to the dining table. "No, not at all. I just didn't have the time."

"I can get that. With you being a vigilante and all."

"Among other things."

They both sit down at the table and Older William boots up his laptop as he continues to eat.

"So, are you ready to go? Did you say goodbye to Dad and Felicity?"

"You probably already know the answers to those. Right?"

Older William smirks at his younger self's intuition of what a future version of one's self can do. "You're catching on pretty quick." He then stretches out his hand. "That probably means we both know what we want to do before you go."

Younger William reaches into his pocket and takes out the CD Talia Al Gual presented to him before. The CD that contained a message from his mother. The one that Younger William refused to play.

"So, you agree with me?"

Older William nods. "We watch it together. You're right to think that it's only fair. So, let's see what Mom left for us."

Younger William gives his future self the CD, which he inserts into the laptop. Almost a few seconds later, a video starts to pop up, showing the image of William's mother, Samantha Clayton, adjusting a camera.

"… **Ok, is it on now? It is? Okay. Good."**

Younger William walks to Older William's side to look at the video. They see their mother taking a few steps from the camera and putting on a smile. She looked very much the same since they last saw her, but with somewhat younger skin. They can tell from the picture quality that this was made in the late 2000's, possibly a few months after his birth.

His mother waves. **"Hi, William!"**

Her smile slowly fades as she says, **"If you're watching this, then either I'm in hiding or…I'm dead."** She pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath, as if the possibility of her dying was the last thing she wanted to say.

She then continues, the seriousness in her eyes piercing like daggers. **"Both possibilities spell doom for you. I made this message as both a confession…and a warning. Before you were born, I was part of a group of bad people. People lead by one of the EVILEST men I have ever met. His name is Joseph Blackfire. But he calls himself…the Deacon."**

Both Williams listened on with wide eyes. They rewound the video to that moment over and over, hearing that sentence repeatedly to make sure they heard it correctly. The man who lead them to a righteous path was in fact the man responsible for everything that happened to him. Possibly even for his mother's death.

Whatever happiness both William's experienced this week…is now beginning to collapse right in front of them.

* * *

The hot moisture of Oliver's shower is really the only event that feels calming, that makes him feel no imminent threat or danger is coming. He closes his eyes, letting the soothing steam take away his sorrows.

 _Wait._

He hears a door opening and closing. Small, slow steps make their way to him. His sense of danger heightens as he remembers how he was ambushed in the showers before.

 _Not this time!_

Acting quickly, he opens his eyes and draws the curtain back, ready to strike the first—

"OLIVER! WAIT!"

He stops himself when he sees that it is Felicity, who jumps when she sees Oliver pulling back his arm to ready his punch. His mind is taken back to reality as he slowly sees himself not in the prison showers, but in the bathroom of their new apartment. He stares with his eyes glued open at Felicity, realizing what a stupid move he was making.

Though, Felicity doesn't seem to be entirely scared of him for she takes a few steps forward and places a hand on his trimmed cheek.

"It's just me Oliver. You're OKAY."

Oliver takes her gentle hand into his, letting her soft touch calm him down. Though, he cannot rid himself of the dread that he now feels. He wants to apologize profusely and let her into the shower. He wanted to love her as he did long before.

"I…I think I should finish."

Felicity nods and takes her hand away. Oliver wants to keep her close, but a part of him lets her hand go. The part of him that wants to be alone for now. The part of him that has been keeping him in this apartment for a whole week in isolation, minus for Felicity and both Williams. But now, he can't bear to see himself potentially hurt her.

When Felicity leaves, Oliver places a hand on the wall and places his forehead on top of it, letting out an uneasy sigh.

 _Oliver, you idiot! Why did you do that? WHY?!_

* * *

As Felicity puts on her dress in front of the mirror, Oliver, who just got dressed after taking a shower, walk up to her. In the mirror, he is seen with a poker face, but Felicity has probably guessed something is on his mind. She was always good at seeing through a poker face. Maybe from being with him.

As Oliver got closer to Felicity, she gives a warm smile. "Hey. Sorry about startling you earlier."

Oliver shakes his head in protest. "No, no. It's my fault. I'm…still not used to being home."

"I understand."

Seeing his face in the mirror, besides the buzzcut hair and a few scars, he looks more like his old self after trimming the beard. She can see him zipping up the back of the dress slowly and put a gentle hand on Felicity's shoulder.

Felicity closes her eyes and smiles again.

"I missed this."

"Having someone to zip your dress?"

"That…and you…" When the dress is zipped up all the way, Felicity turns to Oliver and looks him in the eyes, her smile reduced to a smirk. "And I missed William."

Oliver nodded his head. "I did too."

"It was great seeing him for Thanksgiving. Both Williams, I mean."

"Yeah, but it still felt weird. Almost like having Thanksgiving 20 years into the future."

"Yeah, but they made a pretty mean Turkey though."

Oliver chuckles. "Yes. Yes, they did."

Felicity examines Oliver's body, looking a bit confused. "Speaking of special events, why aren't you ready for the charity event yet?"

"Oh. Uhh…" Oliver puts his hands on his hips, hesitant to answer. "I…I think I want to sit this one out."

Felicity then looked surprised. "WHAT? No! no, no, no, no. You are NOT going to 'sit this one out,' especially since it's an event dedicated to YOU." Felicity put her arms around Oliver's neck. "Look, I know your time in Slabside was rough. But you have been MORE in the dark than you were as the Green Arrow. Everyone's going to be there, ESPECIALLY William. At least make an effort. For them."

After a few seconds of what looked like Oliver contemplating, he put a hand on Felicity's cheek. "You…are the BEST part of me…for the rest of my life."

Felicity smiles once more. "You remembered."

"Of course, I did." Oliver put his arms around Felicity's back. "Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary."

She moved the binoculars and microphone away from her as soon as her parents started kissing. Not because seeing her parents kissing was gross or anything, but because she is now reminded of what today is. Usually, it was when she and Felicity would go on a mother-daughter dinner, telling tales about what bad guy the Green Arrow took down in his glory days. But, it's also the day that she…moved on with her life. After discovering what her mother kept from her.

Instead of moping, she looks at the back of her hand, seeing the symbol that reminds her of what she is fighting for.

"Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad."

* * *

" _BLACKSTAR! BLACKSTAR! BLACKSTAR!"_

 _Blackstar grabbed onto the bars above her and kicked her opponent, sending him staggering to the ground. As he got up, she let go of the bars, ran up the nearest wall, and jumped off of it, using her momentum to punch and stagger him again, following it up with two quick kicks to push him against the wall. Not wanting him to recover, she continued with a series of punches which the opponent, while still disoriented, was still able to block. His counter punches were sloppy, allowing Blackstar to dodge them easily and continue her assault._

 _Though as Blackstar tried to employ a round house kick to the opponent's face, he grabbed the leg and forced her down into a split. Before she could try to get up, her opponent knee strikes her in the face, which made her cough up blood._

 _The opponent, instead of continuing the assault as he should've, gloated to the crowd chanting Blackstar's name, who were begging for her to continue the fight. She used this brief pause to catch her breath and spit out the blood that was still in her mouth. She then got up and assumed a fighting stance._

 _Blackstar ducked under a hook punch and moved to the other side of her opponent. As he grabbed her from behind, she circled around his upper body, grabbed him, and shifting her weight to throw him to the ground. He got up and tried to hit her face with a cross. Blackstar, however, trapped the hand, kicked him in the shin, and rolled them both to the ground with Blackstar wrapped around the opponent in an armbar submission. The opponent, however, slowly got up and pushed himself towards her. When he got close enough, he started to lift her up for a body slam. Adapting to this, Blackstar grabbed the bars at the top of the cage once again and wrapped her legs around her opponent's neck in a triangle choke. She squeezed the neck as tightly as she could until her opponent eventually passed out._

 _When the fight was over, everyone screamed and cheered, chanting her name. "BLACKSTAR! BLACKSTAR! BLACKSTAR!"_

" _BLACKSTAR?!"_

 _The distinct tone of one of the people in the crowd caught Blackstar's attention. She dropped down and turned to the doorway, seeing a man she had never seen before. His whole look spelled "billionaire." His clean hair brushed to the side, his clean-shaven face, and nice yet casual looking clothes. Though, she can't help but feel that there was more to him. Something…familiar. With him were 2 others: a man in his 50's or 60's and a girl around the billionaire's age._

 _The billionaire held a roll of cash between his fingers. "We need to talk."_

* * *

William walks past the rows and rows of occupied standing tables. The guests mingle, talking about business or how Slabside is being shut down. Few of those conversations ever talked about Level 2 or the other dealings that led to Slabside's closure in the first place. William is reminded of similar events he attended during his time as Queen Industry's CEO, that had similar conversations. Those that rarely ever talked about the bad that led to the charity gala in the first place, either because nobody wanted to be reminded of it or nobody cared.

As William got closer to the center, he is reminded of the fighting ring that he, John, and Zoe came to, following a lead from Knightwatch that lead them to Mia, known to many as Blackstar. He can almost picture the cage, seeing her fight one on one with the man bigger and tougher than her and yet she was able to take him down. If he had known that she was his sister then, he would have been proud of her.

But the more prevalent thought running through his mind is the new information from his mother's confession. More importantly, that Joseph Blackfire is the Deacon. He can feel his younger self beginning to doubt the Bible given to him.

 _Maybe I should have said something to him before he left. But he's…I've been hit with news like this before and I came to clear decisions. He just needs time. Yeah. Time to digest all the-_

"Connor!"

The sound of a woman's voice calling his alias snaps him out of his recently formed memory. He smiles as he sees Dinah Drake in a nice and simple black dress and Rene Ramirez in a tux walking towards him.

"Rene, Dinah. Good to see you guys."

Rene gives William a smile and nods his head. "You too. To be honest, we didn't know if you'd come."

William sarcastically scoffs. "I would never miss events like this. Actually, being the CEO of a company, they were mandatory. But this is an event dedicated to my father, so…"

Dinah nodded. "Understandable. And supportive on your part."

"Thank you. Have John and Lyla arrived yet?"

Rene answers, "Yeah. Their holding a table along with Curtis. We're just waiting for your folks to arrive."

"Good."

William notices something about Rene. He keeps eyeing the guests with a subtle frown and, even with his hands in his pockets, William can see a couple of fingers tapping the fabric of his pockets. "Are you all right Rene?"

Rene takes his eyes off the guests and nods quickly. "Yeah, yeah. It's just…" Rene looks at them again, his frown turning into a squinting of the eyes. "It's THOSE people. They think coming here means they're 'supporting' something. Doing 'good.' If they cared about helping, they'd help out the Glades."

"Some of them do care, Rene."

"Well, what about that guy?" William looks to where Rene is staring, seeing a man with brown, slick, combed back hair and a tux, chatting with a group larger than the others. "Max Fuller. He's the one hosting this and HE has all the attention. You think he cares?"

"Well, what about him?" Dinah points to a man alone at a table a couple of rows down from Max Fullers. His eyes are darting, yet he doesn't seem to see them looking at him. "Clayton Ford. He's constantly supporting the Glade's…"

William stops listening as he carefully observes Clayton Ford. He recognizes the man's face, his bald head, and black beard.

 _Wait a minute. Is that…_

"Connor? William?"

William feels Dinah's hand shaking his shoulder and silently whispering his real name. He doesn't turn to her though.

"That man. Clayton Ford. He was the one who was going to buy weapons from Jason Stent before I put a stop to it."

William sees Rene walk up and look at him too.

"Oh crap! It is him."

William looks to Dinah with a frown. "I thought you would have arrested him with Stent!"

"I did, but…" Dinah avoids eye contact for a moment. "Mayor Pollard insisted that I let him go. Like I said, he's one of the most reputable charity donators and she doesn't want to make him look bad. I insisted on going through with the arrest, but her position outweighed my decision."

The mention of Mayor Pollard giving the order makes William raise an eyebrow and turn back to Clayton Ford. "Either that, or they both have connections to the Ninth Circle."

Rene nods in agreement. "It'd explain why she may be cracking down on vigilante's nonstop."

"But I won't jump to the conclusion yet. Best to find—"

"MY HUSBAND…is thankful to be back with his family."

William hears the familiar echo of Felicity's voice coming from the entrance into the main hall. He spots her wearing a black dress like Dinah's, but with red stripe patters on the front of it. With her is William's father, Oliver, wearing something different than everyone else in the room. He has a navy-blue coat with a black vest and white collar shirt underneath along with pants that are the same color as the vest. Not as fancy as Rene's tux, but still formal.

As they make their way in, they are stopped by Max Fuller, who engages in a conversation with them. But, from the disgruntled smirk on Oliver's face, he is not happy to see the man.

William turns to Dinah and Rene. "You two go ahead to the table. We'll meet you there."

William walks towards the table quickly. As he does, the conversation becomes easier to hear.

"And I'm Felicity, the WIFE of the FREAKIN' Green Arrow."

"Wow! That is a surprise! You may not know this, but Oliver back then…" Max Fuller waves a hand in front of his neck. "Wasn't the marriage type. I mean, he did sleep with my wife. But hey! All that is in the past. So, tell me—"

Knowing that Oliver and Felicity didn't want the conversation to go any further, William steps in. "Oliver! Felicity!"

They smile almost as fast as they turn their heads to see William.

"Connor! Hey!" William shakes Felicity's hand, glad that she remembered to use his alias. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Oliver just gives a small nod. "Connor."

William clears his throat, making it seem as if he accidently interrupted the conversation.

"I…hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Actually, Oliver and I were just leaving."

"Yes, we are. I hope you don't mind Max."

Max hits Oliver's arm with a playful smack. "Not at all! But listen, my club is ALWAYS open to you, so come visit some time."

Oliver gives a quick nod towards Max Fuller before he and Felicity leave with William. As the three of them start to walk away, Max Fuller returns to talking with his group.

William gets in between Oliver and Felicity. "Old friend of yours?"

Oliver shakes his head. "More of an acquaintance."

William remembers what he heard from Max Fuller before interrupting the conversation. Though he does not say anything about it. He instead asks Felicity, "Did you encounter any trouble on the way in?"

"No, no. Just some…nosy reporters."

"I suspected. Come on. The others are waiting."

The three of them make their way to a table that is far enough from the crowd to not be heard by anyone. The others and some glasses of champagne just given to them by a waitress await them. They are greeted with hugs, handshakes, and a couple of greetings. After all of them have gathered around the table, they all toast to Oliver's return to Star City, followed by everyone sharing their stories of everything that has happened for the past 6 months, including William's exploits as the Green Arrow.

* * *

 _HE'S here?! This wasn't part of the plan! He may just ruin it! I—I need to relay this._

Max clears his throat. "I, uh, need to make a phone call. Excuse me."

He walks away from the table and retreats to an empty corner. He takes out his phone and dials the number quickly.

After a few seconds, the voice of the Deacon is heard. **"Yes, my child?"**

Max keeps his voice to a whisper as he says, "Deacon, we have a problem. The Red Arrow is here! What are we supposed to—"

" **Worry not, Maximillian. I have planned for this. Just make sure our target is in position and our assassin's will do the rest."**

The Deacon hangs up. Max not knowing what the Deacon's plan for the Red Arrow, whoever he is, makes him frustrated, but only a little.

 _Just stick to the plan. Whatever the Deacon is going to do better work._

* * *

"So then, Curtis throws me the bow and arrow, I line up and take the shot, and, with Wolfman tied in the net, John delivers the final knockout punch."

Dinah looks at William with an incredulous look. "And you managed to do all of that before you came in to help us?"

Curtis clears his throat. "Well, I'll admit, we were still running on a tight schedule. But, as far as swooping in to help moments are concerned, that was probably one of our best. And our most tense."

Lyla gives an assured smile. "You boys did the best you could. And you did catch Diaz later. You still won."

William bows his head a little, his eyes focused on the table. "Only partially."

Everyone takes a moment of silence, remembering how Diaz, along with dozens of prisoners from Level 2, were rendered to ashes due to a bomb that destroyed their bus. As much as William hated Diaz, he never wanted anyone dead. No matter how much Diaz deserved death, he was still a human being. Everyone on that bus was.

Curtis is the one to break the silence, asking Oliver, "So, Oliver. Since our whole welcome back party was botched, what was the first thing you ate when coming back?"

Oliver hesitates to answer. The others may not see it, but William can. Oliver's eyes resonate the pain he has suffered during his 6 months from prison.

Felicity quickly answers, "A Double-Double from Belly Burger."

Rene smirks and nods in approval. "That's what I'm talking about."

John chimes in with, "I know it must be daunting. Getting your sea-legs back." It seems that John saw what William did.

"Yeah, it is. But I'm getting there. I'll be back as Green Arrow in no time."

"I hope so!" The somewhat distant voice of Laurel Lance, who is approaching a spot at the table next to William, grabs everyone's attention. "From what I here, the future hangs in the balance."

William nods towards her in acknowledgement. "Ms. Lance."

"Mr. Queen."

Oliver's jaw drops a bit. "You told her?"

"Well, I kind of had to."

Laurel waves a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. I'm only here for formality's sake."

Felicity smiles in Laurel's presence. "Well, we never did thank you for getting Oliver out of jail."

Oliver smirks and slightly nods. "We appreciate it."

For a moment, William may have seen what looked like a slight smirk on a corner of Laurel's lips. Though, she hides it quickly, probably because she is trying to keep to her cold and imposing character.

"I only did that because it hurt Diaz where it cou—"

She stops herself, probably remembering that Diaz's death spread around Star City like Wildfire. She probably also knows that they wanted Diaz alive, so mentioning him is somewhat of a sensitive topic. Though, instead of trying to change the subject, Laurel asks, "Did…did you find who killed him?"

William shakes his head. "No. We tried asking the Batsons, but they didn't have a clue how their optic deflection camouflage was stolen. But…we may have a—"

"Oliver Queen!"

A joyful call, which would usually have been a berating speech, turns their attention to the woman walking to them. The recognizable long dark hair, middle aged face, and authoritative attitude disguised by a smile, extends her hand to Oliver.

He, in turn, shook hers, though a bit reluctantly. "Mayor Pollard. It's good to see you."

"Well, it's good to see you, given that you have been in the dark this past week."

"Well, I thought some people wouldn't want to see someone they know to be a vigilante."

"Including me? Look, we've had our differences in the past. But I am glad that you made it out of that prison in one piece. Especially given that whole Level 2 fiasco. No one should have to suffer that."

"Thank you for your sentiment. I'm sure you have some speech to prep for."

"Actually, I was hoping YOU would say a few words about your experiences in Slabside."

Oliver raises an eyebrow at the proposal. "Why?"

"Because some of these people only came because it is an event. I want you to raise more awareness of what has happened, and I thought that you are the man to do it. What do you say?"

William looks down at the table again, Pollard's words of gratitude falling on deaf ears for him. _More like a publicity stunt to save a failing mayoral run._

Oliver nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I think that is…a great idea."

"Splendid! Come with me. We'll make an announcement when the speech is about to begin and you all can come up to the stage."

Mayor Pollard leads Oliver (in William's mind, he is being dragged along) towards the stage where a lone microphone stands.

When they left, Felicity's eyes widen. "WOW. Mayor Pollard letting Oliver make a speech? Not even she is that considerate of a person."

John nods in agreement. "I agree. She wouldn't do something like this unless it helped her. Especially if it involves a soon to be reinstated vigilante."

Rene shrugs. "She's probably desperate. You've seen her numbers in the poles lately? She isn't doing very hot."

William scoffs. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone ran against her and won under the basis that the anti-vigilante law would be repealed." Wanting to change the subject, William turns to Felicity. "So, Felicity. You never said if you were going to join Knightwatch. Have you decided?"

Felicity nods her head. "I may only work part time because I am working on a new home security system. I'm not gonna have a repeat of New Haven."

"Nice. Are you accounting for the virus they keep-"

"Guys?" DInah subtly points towards the people behind William. He turns around, seeing them all head to the stage where the speech is being held. He then turns back, seeing everyone with narrow eyes or tilted heads.

Felicity blinks rapidly, probably to see if she's not imaging it. "Were we supposed to wait for an announcement? Did we just not hear any—"

"TEAM…ARROW."

William freezes in place. He recognizes the southern accent that he once thought of as a friendly guide. Now, it is a ghost haunting him after what seems to be eons. He hears the footsteps pattering until they stop right next to him.

"It is good to finally meet you all."

Most of them are confused except for John and Lyla, who William told the revelation to. The two of them keep their guard up, which William is slowly starting to do.

Felicity speaks up, "Uh, great. Who are you?"

John whispers, "He's the Deacon."

The moment John said this, all of them are taking a few steps back. But not William. He slowly turns his head, seeing the man he once thought was his friend with a smug grin on his face. His anger slowly becomes as hot as lava.

Joseph Blackfire, instead of being surprised at his identity being known, keeps his composure. "So, you know." He turns his head towards William, who is breathing a bit faster, but still tries to keep his emotions in check. "Good. This means there are no more masks between us. No more lies."

William clenches his fists as he angrily whispers, "You led me to God, you son of a gun!"

Blackfire calmly nods. "I did. But you did not have the result I wanted William. I thought you would see the world as I did. As St. Dismas did. I thought you would understand why humanity HAS to be cleansed."

"Well you've made a mistake!" Blackfire looks at Dinah, who looks ready to strike. "We can stop you right here, right now!"

"You won't, Ms. Drake." He extends a hand over to where the other tables are. "THEY won't let you."

They all see people who remained at their tables, slightly uncovering pistols from their jacket pockets. They watch over the crowd listening to Mayor Pollard's introductory speech. They all immediately know that this is a threat on the people's lives.

"Play your cards correctly, Team Arrow…and only one has to die."

Worried, William turns back to Blackfire. "Your fight is with me! Leave everyone else out of this!"

Blackfire's smile becomes a bit wider. "You're more than welcome to try. That is, if you're willing to display your abilities in front of everyone else."

William's nostrils flair, knowing that the Deacon has put him in a corner.

"But, on the contrary William, this involves your friends as well. Your antics here and at Slabside have forced my hand."

Lyla immediately says, "So, it was you. You destroyed the bus. You killed the Level 2 prisoners. And Diaz."

"They were criminals. They made their choice. Including…including Ricardo. If I had my way, I would have killed them years ago."

William narrows his eyes. "You draw the line at brainwashing prisoners, but not children?"

"Dante thought that sinners like them could be swayed to us. Broken. Molded. Children have the best chance of being saved from this world of sin. The criminals. The politicians. They are the ones who will betray you when they see that your agenda never aligns with theirs. That is why they had to die. Why ALL of them must die."

"Now, let me introduce my old friend and colleague, Oliver Queen!"

Everyone cheers as Oliver approaches the microphone and adjusts it so that it is at level with his mouth.

"Thank you, Mayor Pollard."

Assuming the worst outcome, William looks at the Deacon with a glare. "If you think about hurting my father-"

"If you think your father is my target, then you are wrong. He is as distracted as all of you are."

"For years, I thought that justice was as simple as stopping criminals and locking them up. But during my 6-month incarceration, I have realized that prisons like Slabside exist. Those that are corrupt. That DEHUMANIZE criminals to the point where they are only a number."

William Looks at Oliver, Mayor Pollard, and Max Fuller, who are the only ones possibly in the line of…

 _Wait a minute._

From the corner of his eye, William sees Clayton Ford's face at the left most side of the crowd.

"Oh crud! Clayton!"

"I am glad that my friends in ARGUS have shut down Slabside once an—"

Suddenly, the lights on the stage go out one by one. But it isn't some faulty lighting. William recognizes the sound, the CRACK of the lights. The same crack of an arrow hitting it. His suspicions are confirmed when an arrow pierces the head of one of the audience members. Just as William's anger is about to boil, another arrow flies. This time, Oliver catches it.

Suddenly, William hears footsteps running from his position. They all turn and see Blackfire already going through the doorway and making his way through the hall. Without hesitation, he and the other guys run after him. As they make it to the next hallway, they find no trace of the Deacon anywhere. Only multiple doorways, a few of which Blackfire would've gone through to disappear so quickly.

They all open the nearby doors, seeing nothing but the inside of closets and private rooms that looked to be undisturbed.

William, who is now having trouble containing his frustration, slams the door and hits the wall with his palm. When he did, he sees the wall being pushed, showing a dark crack.

 _A doorway!_

"Guys! Over here!"

William pushes the door open, finding a secret concrete room. Beyond it is a door with a keypad next to it.

John, who is now next to William, points to the keypad. "There's no way we're getting in there. I'm sorry William. He's gone."

William nods. "For now." At that moment, William felt angrier than ever. He let his guard down and now a man is dead because of it.

 _Joseph Blackfire…Deacon…You are going to pay!_

* * *

The police sweep through the whole area, keeping most of the guests lined up against the wall. They try to find any signs of the bowman that killed one of the guests. Meanwhile, Oliver watches it all with Felicity, who holds his hand and gently caresses the back of it for his palm is holding his other one.

"Look at this Felicity. I should've been on alert. I let my guard down and—"

"Oliver! Look at me." Oliver stares into Felicity's eyes, which calm him a little. "We were all caught off guard. Especially against the Deacon. I mean, how were we to know that this was all an elaborate trap?"

Oliver takes a calming breath and nods. "You're right. I—I shouldn't beat myself up over this."

Just then, Oliver sees John and William come in from the entrance. A subtle frown can be seen on William's face as his chin, which he is stroking, is tilted down. Oliver and Felicity stand up as they approached.

"Anything?"

John shakes his head. "We searched the club inside and out Oliver. No Deacon, no one carrying a bow and arrow, nor the Emiko woman you described."

Felicity hunches her shoulders and sighs. "Then we're back at square one."

"Maybe not." They turn to William, whose frown is gone as he glances over to the crowd of people. "The Deacon said only one person had to die. Our archer shot two arrows. The trajectory of the second arrow was towards Clayton Ford. So, that means—"

Oliver, realizing William's point, finishes, "They killed the wrong target."

William crosses his arms and smirks at Oliver. "Precisely."

Felicity tilts her head a little. "The question now is why he's being hunted?"

"We'll find out." John gives William a pat on the shoulder. "Come on. And remember, you're an ARGUS intern, not the Red Arrow. Follow my lead and don't deviate."

William nods. "Right. Let's go."

"Oliver!"

As they walk towards Clayton Ford, Dinah walks over to Oliver with an arrow in her hand.

"We retrieved one of the arrows from the crime scene. No fingerprints were found and we can't identify what kind of arrow it is. I was hoping, since this is a collaboration between ARGUS and SCPD…"

Catching on to Dinah's request, Oliver takes the arrow from her hand. "Of course. Give me a minute."

Oliver carefully examines the arrow, slowly rotating it to see every detail. The arrow's design and color are made to look like an exact replica of his own and probably even William's when he was the Green Arrow. In fact, the resemblance was a bit scary.

"This has been handmade from the same materials as my own arrows. A replica like this is difficult to make, but not impossible. Whoever our archer is wanted this to look like the work of the Green Arrow."

"To stir up the anti-vigilante groups…and probably warn you to not come back. And probably him too." Dinah motioned her head towards William who, along with John, bring Clayton Ford to another room.

* * *

They lead Clayton Ford into a private space, at his request, so he can talk to them. William can tell that Ford is afraid from his eyes looking around the room and the way his clammy hand keeps rubbing the ring on his finger. Though he and John would've preferred an office and not an empty bar, this is the most secure place they are going to have.

John closes the door before turning to Ford. "Ok. We're secure."

Ford does not ease up. "Are you sure?"

Impatient, William speaks up, "We're as secure as we're going to get. TALK."

Ford takes a deep breath and clears his throat. "Okay. When I was in Yale, I was a member of the Scroll and Key club, along with two other friends of mine. W-we thought it was just a club the bright students went to. It…it turned out to be a Ninth Circle recruitment center. Me and my friends made it in. Those that didn't got their memory erased along with all mentions of the club on any records."

William leaned to John and whispered, "Just like my school in Cambridge."

John nods in agreement. "You said two others went with you?"

"Y—yes. Max Fuller and Sam Hutchinson."

 _Well, that proves Fuller's connection to the Ninth Circle._

William asks, "So, why exactly would they send an assassin after you?"

Ford shook his head. "N-not just me. There are others. Including S-Sam. We lost confidence in the Ninth Circle, Dante, and the Deacon. The others are already dead. It's just me and Sam now. He's in hiding, but I only came here to see if M-Mayor Pollard would help me again."

Both William and John flinch their heads back slightly. John asks, "Did you just say…Mayor Pollard's help?"

"Yeah. She said I would be given freedom and safe passage in exchange for information to give to the SCPD."

John puts his hands on his hips and raises an eyebrow. "Why are members losing confidence?"

"Because of the new vigilante. The Green Arrow or…Red Arrow. I don't know anymore."

 _Great. The Ninth Circle is crumbling, and the defectors are turning to the one person who won't do anything. What a goddamn—_ _Wait. Why am I thinking like that? Why am I swearing? I don't swear. Well, not on purpose._ William snaps out of his thoughts subtly. _Focus William!_

William asks, "Why didn't you bring this up with ARGUS?"

Ford tucks at his collar, a cold sweat emanating from his forehead. "Because the…vigilante frequently worked with them. I remembered the last time I encountered him, and I do not want to do that again."

"Whatever information you had could've saved a lot of people and saved us a lot of time!"

"Well, this guy right here was a vigilante!" His shaky hand points to John. "What if he still has his vigilante mentality of beating up people he judged to be criminals?!"

Having enough of this, William yells, "Give us a hard time and I will—"

"Connor!"

Again, William snaps back to reality. _What—what's happening? This is unlike me. Unlike…me._

While William is in his head, John continues his own form of questioning to a now quivering Ford. "Look, if you can give us a statement and some proof that Fuller may have conspired to kill you, then—"

"You can't! Even if the Ninth Circle is failing, there are still ways they can k—ki-get to me. They'll try again. And they have enough connections that they'll erase evidence before it reaches court."

 _Come on, younger me. Just get over it! I'm trying to deal with a guy that almost handed a gun launderer…cryptocurrency!_

"Not evidence that they can't get their hands on." William looks up to Ford. "Did Max Fuller chip in on that money to pay Jason Stent?"

Ford's eyes grow wide, as if the memory has just struck him. He raises his hand up. "Give me a minute." He takes out a notepad and pen and jots down something, trying to keep his hand steady. He rips the paper and hands it to William. "This is the name that Fuller put it under. It's one of his secret accounts. He usually uses it to scout out a place and redesigns it before buying it from himself. Follow it and you should find the information you're looking for."

John takes a look at the name William is holding. "We'll look into it." He then looks back at Ford. "I'm going to have ARGUS agents escort you to HQ. It's safer there than at your own home. And if you can tell us where Sam Hutchinson is, we'll do the same for him."

Ford nods. "Of course."

Suddenly, the door behind them opens. An ARGUS agent pops his head out. "Agent Diggle, the police have completed their investigation. They're packing it up now. Also, Director Michaels has asked for an update."

"Tell her I'll give her one when I see her. Also, I need you and a couple of other agents to put this man into protective custody, along with another man named Sam Hutchinson."

The agent nods. "Right away sir."

The agent opens the door and signals Ford to come with him. He complies.

William is about to follow suit. However, John puts his arm out to block the path and close the door.

William takes a deep breath and puts on a poker face before speaking. "Something you want to talk about?"

John puts on a neutral look as well, but William can guess that he is either feeling concerned or disappointed.

"Are you okay, William?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine."

John places his hands on his hips. "Look, I have seen how you can be rough on criminals, but you keep your emotions in check. You keep the mission a top priority. What you just displayed a little while ago was the complete opposite. So, let me ask again. Are you really okay?"

William crosses his arms and taps his foot, knowing that there is probably no way around this. "Okay, maybe I'm not as fine as I should be."

"Is this about Blackfire?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?"

"I MEAN—" realizing that it is the changing timeline and not him, William takes some time to regain my composure. "I wasn't the only one who saw my mom's confession. Younger me did too."

John nods his head. "I understand. At his age, it's probably too much for him to digest. But that means he runs the risk of changing your future."

"Well, I know me. He was able to look past Mom being an assassin and Talia Al Gual's involvement in her death. He just needs some time to move on."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"He will."

"SUPPOSING that he doesn't in time…how will this affect you?"

"It won't!"

"I hope it doesn't. We need you focused."

"And I will be." William grabs the doorknob. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get the drive."

"Take someone with you."

"Fine."

"AND…you better tell that person your situation."

"Because you'll tell them anyways for my own good?"

"Because I don't want to see you hurt William. Please."

William shrugs his shoulders as an alternative to rolling his eyes. Though, deep down, he knows that John is right. So, he decides, as he exits the private bar, who he will bring along. Someone outside of ARGUS and SCPD.

* * *

Mia waits on the roof of the building opposite from Oliver and Felicity's apartment. She feels the strong urge to go in there herself. To ask them if they are okay after what happened at that club. But, unfortunately, she can't. Not after what she did.

As she puts the binoculars to her eyes, she sees Felicity come into the apartment while talking on the phone. Felicity hangs up her phone and closes the door. Oddly enough, Oliver did not enter with her, which puzzles Mia.

 _Where is—_

"Hello Mia."

The voice she dreaded to hear, coupled with the name she wished that it did not utter, echoes behind her. She turns around slowly, seeing Oliver put something in his pocket. Most likely, a phone that he used to call Felicity, either giving her an excuse of why he won't be in or telling her exactly why. Both possibilities worry Mia.

"H-how long have you—"

"The entire week. Hoping that you would come to us."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can. Mia…" Oliver extends a hand to her. "Come with me. Come see your mother. Your brother. Be with your family."

Mia takes a step back. "I can't. I betrayed you. I betrayed the whole family."

"You never betrayed us in Level 2. You stuck with the plan and retreated when William asked you to. Whatever you did, you never did intentionally. We WILL forgive you for it. I PROMISE you."

Mia wasn't going to fall for it. None of this sentiment and sympathy towards her. She doesn't deserve it now.

She bows her head. "I can't."

Oliver lowers his hand and breathes a heavy sigh. "Then I hope that you can move past this."

He turns and walks to the stairs. Before going down them, Mia quickly says, "Just tell me…" Oliver turns his head, waiting for Mia's question. "Are you and Mom okay?"

Oliver smirks. "We're fine." He turns his head about halfway towards the steps, his eyes still focused on Mia. "Our door is always open to you. We'll be waiting."

Oliver then goes down the stairs. As he disappears out of sight, Mia feels something strange. Her legs feel tense, as if ready to run on their own. She begins to produce a tear. Her mind is having some war with itself, with the side that wants to run to her father and accept his invitation winning.

Though, she plants her legs firmly to the roof pavement and wipes her eye. The resolve of the lone wolf wins this battle. For now.

* * *

 _Blackstar led the billionaire and his posse to her upstairs office._

 _As she passed the stack of old files, the billionaire asked, "So, you fight for money?"_

 _She stopped at her desk and turned around. "Stress relief." She extended a hand to the couch next to her while faking a smile. "Care to sit?"_

 _The old man, whose identity Blackstar figured out, answered, "No."_

 _She lowered her hand and went back to her neutral stare. "Getting to the point instead of wasting time. Good. So, what do you want?"_

 _The girl with them, who was probably accompanying the old man, asked, "What do you know about Felicity Smoak?"_

 _The question just about confirmed her suspicions. They were here for Felicity. But Blackstar won't let them, especially the old man, put her in more danger than she probably already is in._

 _Blackstar shook her head. "I don't know her."_

" _Really?" The billionaire took a couple of steps forward. "Because you were the last person she called before she disappeared."_

" _Disappeared?" Blackstar's voice trembled a bit. "She's not dead, is she?"_

 _The old man put his hands on his hips. "We were hoping you would tell us that. We know that she stumbled onto something that could mean the end of Star City. It caught the attention of some unknown party. If you know anything that could help us solve this mystery, you need to tell us."_

 _Blackstar frowned. "Why would I tell you anything…Spartan?"_

 _The mention of his name made him shuffle back a bit, his hand subtly going for the holster on the back of his belt._

 _Blackstar got up in his face. "You think I would tell you, the people who brought Star City to hell in the first place?! Then you're damn wrong!"_

" _You really believe all those stories kid? I was there. I SAW how it all happened. I was one of the few people trying to save the city."_

" _And yet you failed. Miserably!"_

" _Hey!" The Knightwatch girl stepped in between them. "Just tell us what we need to know, and we'll leave you alone. Okay?"_

 _Blackstar took a few steps back before taking a deep breath. "I'm a broker. I help people find…certain things. Felicity sent me a message to the one prior. She wanted me to find an electrical firing circuit and a couple transmitters."_

" _Components to build a bomb."_

 _Blackstar almost gave the billionaire an incredulous stare. Though, she guessed he probably worked on similar technology at some fancy company like Felicity's. "Yeah. She never said what for. I never ask questions when money is involved."_

 _The billionaire smirked quickly and subtly scoffed. "Naturally. That's all she told you?"_

" _Yeah. Now, if we're done here, my next fight's in a few minutes and I need to stretch."_

 _The billionaire nodded. "Fine. Let's go guys."_

 _Spartan and the Knightwatch girl went down the stairs. The billionaire, however, stopped just at the first step, placing a hand on the half wall and turned his head to her._

" _If you find anything on her…please inform Knightwatch. We're all worried about her."_

 _With that, the billionaire finally left. With them out of sight, she walked around her desk and opened the drawer, making sure nobody snuck in there and took the information she scoured on Felicity's whereabouts._

* * *

Being extra cautious, William peers around the corner, seeing nobody at the secret entrance behind the church.

"Coast is clear. Come on, Rene."

William walks to the door, with Rene following behind, clutching the pistol in his pocket.

"You really think anyone would think to find you here?"

William feels along the wall, trying to find the door. "Well, if the Deacon is one to look at clichés, then he's searching every church in Star City. Even more reason to move the base of operations."

"To where?"

"You'll see soon enough." William feels a loose brick. He pushes it, opening the door and reveals the flight of stairs. "I'll go in first. You close the door behind us."

William walks down a quarter of the stairs before the dim lights of night are shut out by Rene closing the door. As they make it down to the halfway point, Rene speaks up, "Listen, Will. About the whole younger you situation."

"I told you, he will move on. I trust him."

"And what if he doesn't? That message from your mom—"

"THAT MESSAGE—" William stops walking as he yells and turns to Rene. He stops himself though, realizing that it is just part of the conflicting timeline. Though, Rene still jumps a bit and holds up a hand, telling him that things are all cool.

William takes a breath before speaking again. "That message Mom gave me had some parting words. She said…she told me to be better than her. To not make the same mistakes she did."

Rene doesn't say anything at first. He's probably trying to find the right words to explain to William how ambiguous of a statement it is. Though, William already knows this.

Instead, though, Rene asks, "So, I'm guessing one of those mistakes was trusting the Deacon?"

William nods, his eyes looking down at the stairs. "Yes."

Rene takes a few steps closer to William. "But you heard what Deacon said. You didn't go all psycho like him."

William then looks up, this time looking Rene in the eyes. "And if younger me realizes that, then we have nothing to worry about. If he doesn't…I'll talk to him." William resumes his descent towards the basement. "Now, let's get to it. We need to get that drive before—"

As he is in view of the hideout, he sees a horrifying sight. The bed he used to sleep in is disheveled, the computer monitor is showing his login screen, and, what really heightens his fear, one of the drawers of the bookshelf next to his bed is open.

William looks at it all, his eyes nailed open. "No."

William rushes down the stairs and towards the drawer. He quickly rummages through it, moving every item out of the way to find the drive, but to no avail.

"No, no, no! Son of a—" William stops himself and closes his eyes. _Mission over emotion. Mission over emotion._

Rene's voice can be heard just a distance away. "Will! What is it?!"

William opens his eyes and slams the drawer shut. "It's gone! The drive's gone!"

Rene's voice is closer now, right next to William. "You sure?"

"Yes! Now our archer has escaped, putting us back at—"

"Will!"

William can hear Rene pulling his gun out from his pocket and arming it. William stands up and looks to where Rene is facing. Opposite them is Emiko, the woman from Level 2 that let them escape.

"Took you long enough."

Rene cocks the handgun. "Hands up! Now!"

Emiko stays perfectly still, staring at them with a fierce stare.

Still, William asks with a controlled tone, "Where is the drive?"

"You think you're in a position to make demands?"

"Where! Is! The drive?!"

"You owe me! I let you, your father, and your friends go. I told you that I would make myself known to you when the time came to pay your debt. That time is now."

Rene takes a step forward. "And if we decide to haul your ass to the SCPD or ARGUS for murder?"

"I am not the archer you are looking for, but I know who it is. You won't get that information anywhere else. If you do not cooperate, you get nothing, and I transmit my location to the Ninth Circle. So, you really don't have much of a choice."

William and Rene look at each other. Detecting no signs of Emiko bluffing, William motions his hand downward. Getting the message, Rene lowers his gun and they both look back at Emiko.

William walks to Emiko, stopping just at arm's length. "What do you want?"

Emiko reaches into her pocket and takes out a couple of pieces of folded up paper. "This past month, you arrested Jason Stent and John Cortez. I want you to ask them the questions written on these. You give me my answers, you get the drive and I won't reveal this place. Do we have a deal?"

William, seeing no other alternative, takes the papers from her hand.

Emiko starts to walk backwards towards the stairs. "I left a private number you can reach me on. Contact me when you've gotten what I needed."

As Emiko leaves, William unfolds the paper and looks at the questions. He sees a name that Emiko didn't mention. The name "Kazumi Adachi."

* * *

Max paces back and forth in his office, letting out a grunt.

"He had ONE JOB! One job and he ruined it! Everything was perfect. Do you know how perfect it all was?" Max turns to Dante, who looks at him with no real discernable emotion on his face. "I gave Clay the false sense of safety, had him at the EXACT SPOT—"

"Complaining about it isn't going to solve anything" Max stops pacing when Dante speaks, who pauses for a bit before speaking again. "We'll have to go with the alternative plan."

"And what are the chances that will work? The Deacon—"

"The Deacon destroyed the bus carrying viable recruits and admitted that his plan is to destroy Star City, which our assassin recorded and sent to our members before trying to kill Mr. Ford. Even if that assassination failed, the Deacon's death has long been overdue. I have hired the Thanatos Guild to execute him."

Suddenly, a vibrating phone can be heard from the Deacon's pocket. He takes it out and looks at the number with a grin. "And this is them calling to tell me that the job is done. Here. You may listen." He answers and puts the phone on speaker. "Has it been done?"

" **I raised you Dante."**

Max's eyes shoot open while Dante's mouth is open, seemingly at a loss for words.

" **I imparted my wisdom to you, given you a taste of our plan to bring God's holy end to the world, and this is how you thank me? And yet, instead of facing me yourself, you rely on assassins with the same training as me?"**

Dante firmly grips the phone. "I sent about a dozen—"

" **And you thought me so ignorant of this eventual betrayal that I would not gather my assassins to me?"**

Max's breathing is now sporadic, but still silent. Dante's remains in his position like a statue, trying to look fierce when, in reality, he is feeling the same amount of dread.

" **You truly hunger for power, as the rest of the Ninth Circle. The only reason I do not come after you now is out of respect for you. But know this. YOU have declared war on me. On all the children who have protected and sided with me. The next time we meet, the hand of God's justice, MY justice, will be slow and agonizing. A taste…of Hell."**

The phone then ends the call. Max looks at Dante, waiting to hear an answer. He provides none.

Max heads to his desk and picks up his phone, dialing the assassin they used earlier today.

"What are you doing Max?"

"Tying up loose ends."

"If you are referring to Ford and Hutchinson…" Dante's voice trails off. Max looks back, seeing him with eyes wide open. "You're going to hire a hit on Oliver Queen, aren't you?"

"His death will send a message. Tell the other vigilantes to stay away from me."

"Or prompt them to come after you. My assassins could not kill the Deacon and yours could not kill the right target. What are the chances he will kill a returning vigilante?" Dante walks over to Max and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "You're letting fear run your decision. Breathe."

Max does as he is told, taking a deep breath. He places the phone down and loosens himself up. Physically, anyways.

"Okay. You're right."

Dante smiles. "Good. We need to reconvene with the others and discuss our next move. I'll text you the location tomorrow night."

Dante then heads down the stairs and towards the exit. As soon as Max hears the door close, He picks up the phone again and starts dialing for the assassin.

 _Screw you guys. You'll be thanking me when Oliver Queen is dead._

* * *

 _At last. Star City stands in ruins. The flames roar from every building he can see. The Deacon smiles sinisterly and raises the Bible up, his symbol of victory._

 _Just as the Deacon was about to gloat, however, the flames jump away from the buildings and onto the book. It burns fast, the fires spreading to his hands. He lets go of the book and tries to put himself out, but the flames prove to be stubborn. The flames now spread all over his body, engulfing even the screams he makes._

 _Wake up, William!_

* * *

William wakes up, seeing darkness around him apart from the faint light of the manor garden coming through his window. He shifts his head to look at the clock, which says that it is 4:00 in the morning. He puts a hand on his forehead, feeling sweat dripping from it instead of the flames from his nightmare

William looks at the book on the bedside table, feeling as if the binding has eyes for the Deacon to see him. It haunts him. Taunts him. He entered the faith through this book and now…

He looks away from the book as if to not make eye contact with it. _Did I ever even believe in it? Of course, I did. Right?_

William can't help but think of his mother's message. _I'm doing better. I'm on the good path. Right? I'm beating up bad guys…which the Bible says is bad. But I'm trying to uphold it by working outside it, like…like the Deacon._

William looks at the book one last time. After a while, he shakes his head.

 _I can't. I can't base myself on a lie. For Mom's sake._

William takes the Deacon's Bible and heads out of his room to find a fireplace.

* * *

William lies asleep in his bed, seeing his younger self go through the manor hallway. He tosses and turns, feeling the effects of his possible choice taking hold bit by bit. He wants to wake up, to get to his breach beacon. But something keeps him locked in his dreams, which is turning into a nightmare.

* * *

William slowly closes the door to the library as to not disturb anyone's sleep. He looks around, seeing nothing but tall shelves filled with almost every book imaginable. To his left, at a distance, is a fireplace in front of a grand piano that is still roaring. He doesn't care who lit it and left it there, so long as he has something to use.

* * *

As Younger William slowly approaches the fireplace, Older William starts to sweat, his mind starts to fight the new timeline in his head. Foggy memories start to become clearer by the minute. By now, Younger William is just a few steps away. Older William sweats even more, as if remembering the heat from the burning logs.

 _Don't! Don't!_

* * *

"William?"

The familiar yet unexpected voice causes William to jump around. He is relieved to see that it is just the face of his guardian/mentor, looking at him with a focused gaze.

William takes a deep breath before speaking. "Hey. You're, uh, back from patrol."

"Yes, I am. I told you that I usually come back around this time. Remember?"

William then recollects the tour of the manor and the list of instructions given to him, one of them saying that his guardian would be back from patrol and would return via the secret entrance in the library, which is behind the fireplace and only activated by playing certain keys on the piano. William now feels like an idiot for not remembering this when selecting where he was going to burn his book. Though, he does not show it.

"Right, right. Sorry. I just…I just needed to find someplace quiet."

"To burn that Bible in your hand?" William's guardian points to the book. "It doesn't take a skilled mind to put the pieces together." He crouches down to William's level and looks him in the eyes. "Do you mind telling me why you were going to do that?"

William looks down at the book and sighs. "This book…it was given to me by a man I once trusted." He then looks back up to his guardian, clutching the book tight as if choking it. "By the same guy that made my mom's life hell! She wants me to do better, and I can't do that with this."

"With the book…or with the faith you found?"

"Either one! You fought the Order of St. Dismas. You would know what they were like!"

"William." He puts his hands on William's shoulders. "I may not be an expert on Catholicism. But those people followed a human being. A human being that warped whatever teaching was given to him.

"Yeah. I know that, but—"

"But YOU…" He takes one shoulder away and points at William. "You made a different choice. You saw what you will become. And your mother would be proud of you."

He grips the book and slowly takes it from William's hands. "You can discard this book if you want. But don't abandon your faith. Okay?"

Hearing his guardian's speech puts William a bit at ease, at least enough to reconsider his choice. He gives a slight nod, which makes his guardian smirk.

"Good. Now, come on. I want to show you something then send you straight to bed."

* * *

William wakes up from his nightmare turned dream-like memories. He discovers his blankets on the floor, the sheets drenched in sweat. He looks at the clock on the bedside table, seeing that it is 8:00 in the morning. In front of the clock is something he can barely recognize. It was a Bible, but not the Deacon's. The black cover with white text and tannish pages is replaced by a red cover with a golden text and cross, as well as whiter, well-preserved pages.

William picks the book up and looks inside the cover, seeing the name of the book's previous owner inside it. Then, as if in an instant, a new memory flickers to life.

" _This book once belonged to my mother before she and my father died. She probably wanted me to follow the faith at a young age. But I couldn't. Not after everything that happened. But maybe you can."_

Suddenly, William hears a ringing from his left. He sees his cell phone vibrating on the bedside table. He picks it up, seeing John's caller ID. He answers it and puts it to his ear.

"Uh, Hello?"

" **William. It's John. Dinah gave us permission to interrogate Stent and Cortez as you requested. We're starting now."**

William smirks. "Got it. I'll, uh, be there when I can."

" **Alright."**

William hangs up the phone and gets up from the bed. He looks at the bed, figuring that he can change them now and wash later. As he heads for the door out of his room, though, he receives one last memory. It is of his younger self opening a breach and throwing something through there. A book.

As William opens the door, he sees the book on the floor, recognizing it as the Deacon's Bible. He picks it up and opens it instinctually, finding a letter there. He is not surprised, as if he knew it was in there in the first place. Though the newer memories are coming so fast, he can't discern everything.

Though he now remembers what the letter says, he opens it anyways and reads it.

" _Hey Connor,_

 _I know you may have seen all of this in your head already, but I just want to tell you this. I want to keep being a Catholic. I really do. But I can't do it with this book. So, I'm using a new one. One that Bruce Wayne lent to me. You probably have it already, given that you are from the future._

 _I don't really know what to do with this, though. So, I'm leaving it in your hands. At this point, I don't care what happens to it, so long as we're not using it anymore._

 _From_

 _William."_

William smirks. "Thanks Bruce."

* * *

Rene watches as John interrogates John Cortez, who has been keeping a neutral stare the whole time. Suddenly, Rene hears footsteps coming towards him. He turns and sees William with a half eaten bagel and a coffee in his hands. He looks somewhat pale and there are bags under his eyes.

Though, Rene doesn't directly comment on William's appearance. "You're late."

William doesn't answer why. He just walks to the window and sees what is going on. "How's the interrogation going?"

"Cortez broke early. The mere mention of you and he spilled."

"And Cortez?"

Rene puts his hands on his hips. "Nothing concrete yet. Apparently, he got used to being interrogated. Especially by vigilantes."

William takes a large sip from his coffee. "Does he want anything in exchange?"

"Just freedom or a cut on his sentence. John and Lyla worked out the details with Dinah."

"Anything on Kazumi Adachi?"

Rene nods his head. "Yeah. She was killed last year in a fire. Officially, it was an accident. But Stent said otherwise. He provided the gun that was meant to kill her."

While Rene explains this, William takes a long, silent, drawn-out breath. "And no doubt Cortez was hired to eradicate any evidence that showed a homicide."

Rene shrugs his shoulders. "That's John's guess."

"Anything on why anyone wanted to kill Kazumi Adachi or why Emiko wants to know about her death?"

"Your dad's already meeting with Walter Steele about that."

William raises an eyebrow. "Walter Steele? As in my step-grandfather? How is he involved?"

"Felicity looked up any 'un-official' information about Adachi and Walter's name kept coming up. Though, she has a hard time finding out why."

As they talked, Rene noticed something. Though William is tired, he also looks more focused than yesterday. Acting less brash.

Rene can only guess why. "So…how are things with younger you?"

William turns to Rene, a slight smirk on his face. "He found a way to move on, like I knew he would."

Rene wants to comment on William's appearance. That he should probably go home and let them sort this out. But, if he is anything like his dad, he'll be stubborn about it.

So, Rene simply nods his head and says, "Good."

Rene hears the door next to them open. Rene turns and sees John, looking towards them as he leaves the interrogation room.

William asks, "Well?"

John crosses his arms. "Cortez did indeed burn down Kazumi Adachi's apartment. He never knew who hired him. Though, he was with the person who pulled the trigger."

"Who was it?"

"William Glenmorgan. A mercenary. He's on ARGUS' most wanted list."

William leans against the wall and lets his his head tilt a bit downward. "Why does Emiko care so much about this woman?"

* * *

Oliver looks at the watch Felicity gave him for their anniversary, seeing that he has been waiting 5 minutes for Walter to come out of his office. He is not impatient. Rather, he is glad that he is out here. It gives him time to think about what to say.

Oliver hasn't seen Walter in 5 years. Not since he helped Oliver keep Queen Industries, which eventually went to Ray Palmer before that collapsed as well. But now they're going to meet face to face again, with almost no secrets between each other since Oliver has been outed as the Green Arrow. How did Walter take the news? How does he feel now? These questions and more keep running through Oliver's mind.

That was, at least, until he hears the door next to him open. Oliver stands up as he sees Walter, looking the same as he was a few years ago. There were a couple of noticeable wrinkles, but he still has a shining bald head and glasses that make him look distinguished.

Walter, as soon as his eyes lay on Oliver, greets him with a friendly smile. "Oliver!"

Oliver gets up and shakes hands with Walter. "Hello Walter."

"It's good to see you." As they shake hands, Walter examines Oliver. "It seems like prison has roughened you up."

"Well, you look like you haven't aged a day." Oliver made a mental note not to mention the wrinkles.

Walter scoffs. "Trust me, with all the work I'm getting, I feel like a 90-year-old man."

Oliver can't help but chuckle at Walter's remark.

"Come in." Walter leads Oliver into his office. "I just got some coffee. You want some?"

"No, thank you."

As soon as Oliver steps into the office, he sees stacks of papers lining almost every wall in the room. He can barely see the bookshelves. The desk, though, barely has anything on it except a computer, a cup with writing tools, and a picture frame, at least the back of it.

Walter rushes to his desk. "Sorry about the mess. Please, take a seat."

As Oliver approaches the chair on his side of the desk, he asks, "What is all of this?"

Walter sighs heavily as he sits down. "Damage control. Ever since Cayden James' cyber-attack and the FBI's cleanup last year, we've been working double time to reestablish accounts and accumulate funds. All to help Star City get back on its feet." He places his arms on the table. "So, what do I owe the visit?"

Oliver clears his throat. "Well, it, uh, relates to the attack at Fuller's club last night."

Walter, for some reason, smirks. "So, it's true. You are becoming the Green Arrow again."

Oliver can't help but feel guilty, knowing where this conversation may lead. "Walter. Let me just say that I'm—"

Walter holds up a hand. "No need. I know that the secrets you kept from us were for our own protection. I'm glad to know that you were the one keeping the city safe and I am glad that you are doing so again. Proud, even."

Feeling assured, Oliver smiles. "Thank you, Walter."

Walter leans back a bit in his chair. "Still, I am curious as to how I am involved in all of this. I wasn't one of the people at that gala."

"Well, there have been some…complications in the case. We need information on someone, and your name keeps coming up."

"If it's Max Fuller, I only ever had dealings with his parents, not with him."

"Not Fuller. A woman named Kazumi Adachi."

The name seems to have triggered a memory or some fear in Walter, for his eyes widen at its utterance. He leans forward quickly as if ready to pounce.

"How do you know that name?"

Oliver, even though he is concerned about what Walter may do, explains, "Someone was asking for her."

"Emiko?"

Oliver, on the inside, is surprised that Walter knows who Emiko is.

"Was it Emiko?!"

The rising tone in Walter's voice causes Oliver to answer quickly, "Yes! Yes, it was Emiko."

Walter rests his forehead on his fingers and takes a deep breath. "Oh, thank god! She's alive."

Oliver's eyes become narrow. "What do you mean she's alive? Walter, who are Kazumi and Emiko?"

Walter looks at Oliver with guilt in his eyes. "People I hoped you wouldn't hear of."

* * *

William stares incredulously as Oliver finishes giving him the rundown of his visit with Walter. "Seriously? That's what Walter told you?"

" **Yes William. He even showed me proof of it. I—I'm still wrapping my head around it."**

"The proof. What is it?"

" **A test. The only one in existence. William, we know what Emiko is going to do with the information from Stent and Cortez. How are we going to stop her?"**

William, feeling more awake, thinks for a moment. Without the conflicting timelines, his mind is now free to formulate a plan in his head.

 _Emiko is expecting her questions to be answered. She never said how to give them to her. She gave us the questions on a piece of paper, which means…That's it!_

" **William?"**

Remembering that his dad is still on the line, William talks to him again. "Drop that test off to the new hideout. I have a plan."

" **Let me help then."**

"No. I want you to overlook the transport of the last of my things to the new hideout, then go home. Once we get the info, we'll need you on standby in case Fuller decides to flee. Trust me."

" **Alright. But if ANYTHING goes wrong, you contact me."**

William nods. "Will do. See you Dad."

William hangs up and searches his pocket. He takes out the piece of paper with Emiko's number on it and texts, " _Have your info. Where do we meet?"_

A couple of minutes after sending it, a new message in the thread pops up, saying _"Star City shipyard at 7:00 tonight. Come alone."_

* * *

6:59 PM. That's what Emiko's phone says. Still one minute before Oliver Queen's son arrives. Still, she taps her foot, hoping that he will arrive sooner. She has other matters worth attending to.

"Emiko?"

Her hopes come to fruition when she hears the familiar yet disguised voice behind her. She turns around and sees the self-named Red Arrow at the other end of the roof. In his hand is a file with papers, no doubt the interrogation logs.

As he walks over, he says, "I have what you want."

Emiko nods in acknowledgement. "Good. Give it here."

He shakes his head. "First the drive. And everything you know about Fuller."

"You think you're in a position to bargain with me?"

His visible mouth cracks a smirk. "I know you need this information and that it is the only lead you may ever get. So, you don't comply, we'll find the information, just at a slower pace and with the chance of Fuller getting away." He stops when he is at arm's length and extends his empty hand. "So, the drive."

Impatient, she gives Red Arrow the USB stick. He proceeds to plug it into his gauntlet, which she didn't know he had. After a little while, William nods and hums before taking the drive out and putting it in his pocket. "Everything is on there. You've kept your word. Now, anything to add about Fuller or the assassin?"

She gives a frustrated sigh. "I don't know his name. All our real names are kept from each other. What I do know is that he is an expert at copying an individual. Almost all their looks and skills can be assumed by him and he leaves no trace of himself. It's why we call him 'Mirror.'"

Red Arrow just crosses his arms and nods. "Interesting."

Emiko rolls her eyes, not wanting to be here any longer. "Yeah, yeah. Interesting. Give me the file!"

When Emiko tries to grab the file, Red Arrow uncrosses his arms and keeps it away. "Before I give this to you, just one last question. What EXACTLY will you do with this information?"

Emiko is now infuriated, not wanting to answer any more questions. "It's none of your business! Give it to me now!"

Red Arrow sighs, sounding as if disappointed with the answer. Though, Emiko doesn't care about what he thinks. She just wants the information.

After a moment of hesitation, Red Arrow extends the file to her. She snatches it from his hand.

"Don't leave until I verify it."

Red Arrow nods. "Fair enough."

The adrenaline of excitement runs through her veins as she opens the file. At last, she has the lead she has been looking for since a year ago. At last, she can see who the killer is. At last, she has…has…

She has a blood test. HER blood test. It gives evidence of the heritage she wished would stay buried. The heritage of her bastard father. Her eyes are shot wide, her shock keeping them from closing.

 _How the…_

She flips through the pages, finding the same test over and over and over. It's all here, haunting her after she tried to put it away. The last page, however, is different. It says, _"Sorry, Aunt Emiko."_

She looks back up, seeing Red Arrow no longer in front of her. She catches him running and already quite a distance away.

"Hey!" She started to chase him for she has come too far to leave empty handed. "Get back here, you son of a bitch!"

Red Arrow shoots a grapple arrow at the top of a stack of containers and swings from it. Emiko shoots a rope arrow and continues her pursuit as soon as they both land onto the ground. Red Arrow runs through the narrow path made by the containers, showing no signs of diverting towards another path or climbing up them, even though he is at a safe distance to lose her. Though, her only concern is slowing him down, and she knows how. She takes an arrow, pulls it back on the string, and aims for the leg.

As she is about to release, though, something tugs and then pulls at her leg, making her miss the shot and fall to the ground and, eventually, hang her upside down. She looks up and sees a rope gripping her ankle.

Before she can try to get herself free, she hears a pistol aimed right at her ear. "I wouldn't try it if I were you." She recognizes the voice of Rene Ramirez right next to her.

She now feels a hand turning her around, but not from the side Rene is on. Instead, it is John Diggle, who she sees before being stopped in the direction of the Red Arrow.

John Diggle then takes her hands. She tries to resist, but Rene grabs her arms and keeps them still.

She can feel her hands being cuffed as John Diggle says, "Emiko Adachi Queen, you are under arrest."

She looks to Red Arrow, her nostrils flaring. "Why?! Why?!"

Red Arrow walks closer, unphased by Emiko's anger. "Because I'm not letting another family member get blood on her hands."

"We are NOT family! We never will be!"

"You say that now…"

Suddenly, a beeping from Emiko's pocket is heard. She recognizes it as her cell's ringtone. Red Arrow removes the pocket top slowly, grabs the phone, and looks at her messages.

Red Arrow's mouth begins to open. "Oh no!"

John Diggle walks into view with a worried stare. "What is it?"

"The Mirror, the assassin from the gala! He's about to breach my parent's apartment!"

Emiko smiles. "Good." The three of them turn to her with confused stares. "I hoped to be there myself, but he'll get what he deserves."

Red Arrow's lips press together to form a frown. "Why? He's your brother!"

Emiko jerks herself forward as she speaks. "And he's going to feel the rejection I got from our dad! Just as I'm giving you! You think we're still family now?"

Red Arrow takes out an arrow. Emiko can't see clearly what type it is. He crouches down, no visible emotion on his mouth. "Yes." She feels a sting on her neck. She now realizes that Red Arrow has used a tranquilizer arrow on her to make sure she isn't conscious to try and escape. "In time, you will too."

As things become pitch black, the last thing she hears is Red Arrow saying, "We need to get over there! NOW!"

* * *

As Felicity is done typing up an email to her dad about Christmas arrangements, she hears the door to the apartment open. She sees Oliver, who looks a bit distraught, even with the small smile he quickly puts on when he walks in.

"Hi Felicity."

Felicity smiles back, not wanting to look blatantly worried for Oliver at first. "Hi. How did your visit with Walter go?"

Oliver reaches the kitchen table and places a hand on it. "Good. Enlightening even. Uh, do we have room to invite him for the Christmas party, by the way?"

Felicity nods. "Of course. I'll put him on the list."

Oliver leans on the table, looking at it as if contemplating something. Felicity knows that can only mean one thing.

She gets up from her chair and walks to him. "So…what did Walter say about Kazumi?"

Oliver sighs, his breath almost heavy. "He told me that…Kazumi was once an assassin for the Ninth Circle under my dad's command. They got together…and had a child."

Felicity's eyes widen. She knew Robert Queen to be a lady's man. But having a child with another woman is entirely unexpected.

She was at a loss for words, only able to whisper, "Whoa!"

Oliver nods, but keeps his gaze on the table. "Yeah. Apparently, she was supposed to give up the baby to the Ninth Circle…but refused. Dad kept them hidden…with Walter's help."

Felicity then realizes what this information means. "So…Emiko is—"

Oliver looks up to her. "My half-sister. Yes."

As shocked by this news as Oliver probably is, one thing Oliver said perplexed her. "Wait. You said she was under your father's command. So, he was part of the Ninth Circle? For how long?"

Oliver takes a deep breath, as if what he will say next is about to shock the world. "Right up until they, along with Malcolm Merlyn, conspired to kill him."

The news very much felt like how she thought it would. Even the entire world would be shocked.

"So, Malcolm Merlyn was a member? They had a part in the Undertaking?" Felicity takes some time to process this. _It explains how Merlyn had so many connections, but…a whole underground sect at his disposal. Damn._

She looks back to Oliver, who is looking at the table again, this time with a frown.

Felicity asks, "How…how are you doing? Processing this?"

Oliver looks her in the eyes, his gaze as if he has been stabbed in the back. "I…have known my father to be unfaithful to my mother. But…to raise another family in secret? To have another child? It's just—"

His monologue is interrupted by a ringing of both their phones. She takes hers out, seeing William's alias, Connor Hawke, on the caller ID. She looks at Oliver's to see that he has the same, as well as the same confused look she has. Believing that it must be important, Felicity picks it up and puts it on speaker phone.

"Hey William."

" **Where's Dad?!"**

Oliver leans in. "I'm right here, bud."

" **Then get out of the apartment! NOW!"**

Still confused, Felicity asks, "William, what's—"

Before she can ask her question, the apartment door explodes. Felicity jumps while Oliver stands his ground for whatever comes inside. Coming out of the smoke of the explosion is someone wearing a suit that is strikingly similar to William's Green Arrow, except no white lenses on the eye mask.

The Green Arrow imposter throws an arrowhead at Oliver, which he dodges. Reacting quickly, Felicity runs to the end of the couch next to her and ducks for cover. Peering around the corner, she can see Oliver fighting the imposter. But his slow strikes and blocks show some lack of experience. He might not last long.

 _I have to do something fast! I need—_

Felicity looks over to where her purse is, sitting on the chair on the other side of their small living room.

 _If I can just get to that, I can stop him._

With the imposter busy, she makes a dash for it. However, she is stopped by Oliver being thrown across from the apartment door to the living room carpet. Seeing that she is the next target, she runs and gets behind the curtains, knowing how strong they are. Not to her surprise, she hears arrows being shot, but none of them penetrate the fabric.

 _Thank god ARGUS put these in._

Suddenly, when she thought about making a dash for it, the window to Felicity's right breaks, causing her to shriek and bring her arms up to cover herself. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be the target, for the arrow she hears seems to have aimed for where the imposter may be. She peers around and sees Oliver get up and fighting the imposter again, this time alongside a woman with…

 _Wow! Is it me or does she have blonde hair like my mom?_

Felicity quickly snaps out of it, though.

 _Focus! Get the gun while they occupy him._

As she goes for the bag, Oliver disarms the bow from the assailant and the woman kicks the man in the back of the leg and then performing a kind of jiu-jitsu takedown, throwing her body onto him and forces him down onto his front before getting up with a roll.

Felicity quickly fishes for the gun while Oliver yells, "Who are you?!"

Felicity feels the grip of the pistol in her hand and starts to take it out. Meanwhile, the woman aims an arrow at the man. "My dad asked you a question!"

What the woman says makes Felicity stop pulling up the gun from the bag. She looks at the woman again, examining her features. Besides the hair, many features are also scarily like Felicity's.

 _Oh my god. Is she…_

The imposter flips onto his back and tries to get up, but the woman, who may be Felicity's daughter from the future, shoots an arrow close to his leg.

"STAY DOWN!"

William turns to the possibly future daughter with a frown. "Mia!"

The frown Oliver gives is not just any frown. It's a parental frown. One like what Felicity's mom would give her if she was disappointed in Felicity's actions.

Though, as he diverts his eyes from the imposter, he gets up, punches Mia in the face and knee strikes Oliver in the gut. The punch came fast and hard, knocking Mia out hard enough and towards the floor.

Reacting quickly, Felicity aims the gun at the imposter and yells, "STOP!"

Seeing her with the gun, the assailant stops before he could pick up his bow. She quickly recollects what William told her to do in this sort of situation.

" _Lesson 1: assert dominance over the situation. The goal is to dismantle the situation, not maim anybody."_

Felicity glares at the imposter and puts on a serious looking frown. "Don't move."

" _Lesson 2: see any signs of someone going for a weapon."_

Her eyes shift constantly, looking for any sign of the imposter reaching for anything. Eventually, she catches him reaching behind his pants, possibly for a hidden arrowhead.

" _Lesson 3: If someone is reaching for a weapon, fire a warning shot and threaten him."_

Felicity aims just near the imposter's arm and shoots, causing him to freeze in place.

"I said DON'T MOVE! The next one won't miss!"

Just as she says this, Oliver recovers, grabs the imposter's arm, and pulls him down before hook punching him in the face and instantly knocking him out.

Just then, footsteps are heard running into the doorway. Oliver and Felicity look up, seeing William in his Red Arrow suit with bow and arrow aimed. Seeing that the situation is under control, he lowers his weapons.

William walks towards them quickly. "Dad! Felicity! Are you—" He stops dead as soon as he sees Mia on the floor. "Oh no!" He runs over to her side, checking for a pulse. He sighs in relief and presses the comm on his ear. "John, I need the medical room prepped for one!"

While William activates a breach to wherever they are going to and Oliver picks Mia up, Felicity stands here, trying to process all of this.

 _I…I have a daughter?_

* * *

Mia opens her eyes, staring at the ceiling she is probably realizing is not the apartment. She looks down and sees herself in the infirmary bed. The room around her is bluish in color with a monitor on the wall bearing the ARGUS logo.

Mia looks to her right, seeing her mom and dad, Felicity and Oliver. Felicity smiles somberly, relieved to see her awake. Oliver just gazes at her, probably feeling the same way.

Mia then sees a pair of handcuffs that keep her wrist to the bed. Whatever relief she had seeing them alive is slowly being replaced with a frown. But not against them.

"How much did Will tell you?"

Felicity is the first to speak. "Only that you're our daughter…from the future." Her tone becomes more pained with every word. "And how those…BASTARDS at Slabside tortured you."

Oliver clears his throat. "We tried to talk William out of using the handcuffs. But he insisted that you would escape."

Mia does not get angry. Instead, she takes a quick breath. "Well…he was right."

Oliver then glares at her. "And he also said they're not coming off until you tell us what exactly you did that makes you think you've betrayed us."

Mia looks at them as if her heart is sinking and shakes her head. "I can't. You'll both hate me in the—"

"No!" Felicity walks up to the bed. "No. We won't…hate you. Whatever you did…it WASN'T your fault. It was Parker's." Felicity takes Mia's cuffed hand into hers. "Please! Let us in. We can help you so you can…find a way to move past it, but you need to let us in. Please."

Felicity's assuring words and the comfort of her hands results in a sliver of a smirk from Mia. They must be reminding her of the other times Felicity did this throughout her childhood. Maybe when Mia made a mistake, if her training with Nissa went wrong, or was just upset. Felicity must have been the mom that was always there with the right thing to say. Even now, when Mia hasn't even been born yet.

After a moment of hesitation, Mia talks. "He didn't even try to reform me. He just showed me…" Her tone becomes higher, her voice starting to crack. "…someone I loved dying over and over! I just needed to make it stop! I—" her lips pucker and her eyes start to water, as if she is in pain. She probably can't tell where it is, but it is there, probably making it hard to say her confession, but she had to. "When William and I met…when we found out we were siblings, we just talked about you. We talked about individual experiences with you and…" tears began to form, flowing down her cheeks. "He told me about New Haven! About the witness protection program! They found you because of me!"

Her parent's eyes grow wide. Not out of shock, but of revelation. They don't say a thing, which worries Mia more from her heavy breathing.

"I'm so sorry!"

"No! Mia! Listen to me." Felicity grips Mia's hand just a bit tighter and crouches down to look her in the eyes. "They broke you! They did those…HORRIBLE things to you. They hurt you. They hurt OUR family."

"And Mia." Oliver walks over and kneels, putting a hand to Mia's cheek and wiping a tear from her face. "We are not holding anything against you. You're our daughter. And WE are going to make the Ninth Circle pay. Together. Okay?"

Mia probably wants to nod, but she only produces more tears. Oliver and Felicity bring Mia a bit closer for a hug. Mia's head rests on Oliver's arm, his sleeve drying a tear or two as they drop.

Seeing this happen, William can't help but smile.

 _Good job sis._

"It looks like your plan worked."

William turns to John, who has shown up next to him unannounced. He looks into the room, seeing the scene, and smiles as well, but only for a short while.

John then asks, "But what about the long term?"

"My sister is tough. She'll be okay."

John looks back to William. "I hope so. The only question is what will we do with her."

William turns off the buzzer that let him listen in on the conversation. "We'll let her stay here for a few days. At least until she's back on her feet."

John spreads his arms across the hallway and smirks like a real estate agent showing off a home. "You did make the bunker more accommodating."

William smirks. "After spending the first month cleaning up the damage. With all the other additions, it might as well be a home away from home." William then gazes with focus at John. "But I don't believe you came her just to talk about that."

John nods. "Yeah. We have something."

John begins to walk down the hallway to the main room. William follows as he asks, "Good news or bad?"

John places his hands on his hips. "A little of both. I scoured Emiko's texts. Apparently, Dante tried to assassinate the Deacon and now he's gone into hiding. It was found on a text sent prior to the Mirror's. The Deacon was asking her to come with him."

"Anything in there on why the Deacon or Dante wanted my father dead?"

"Neither. Fuller hired him. A text from Dante confirmed that as much since he asked Emiko to make sure that didn't happen."

William nods, for he understands the context now. "Fuller is scared, possibly from the Deacon's betrayal. He sent the Mirror as a message to stay away. But that failed. Most likely, he's going to leave Star City when he realizes what has happened."

"Actually, I have good news regarding Fuller." John stops for a moment and smiles. "We got him right where we want him."

* * *

 _William kept his eye on Blackstar as she fought her next opponent. He found that some of her strikes and grapples were similar to that of the Al Gual style, only more emphasis is placed on submissions and takedowns to compensate for a lack of strength. However, it's Blackstar's physical appearance that William somehow found…familiar. As if he saw her somewhere before._

" _Find anything interesting?"_

 _The almost envious voice next to William, which belonged to Zoe, sat down next to him._

 _William looked at her with an assured stare. "I'm just making sure that she doesn't have her eyes on her office door. If we go in there now, she may spot us. It's best to let her finish her fight first and then see what happens."_

 _Zoe nodded. "Sounds good. But are we sure she had anything to hide?"_

 _William subtly brings out his phone, showing the image of Blackstar behind her desk. "The camera I placed on Blackstar's door saw her rummage through her desk after we left. She's hiding something. I could feel it in our conversation with her. The question is what exactly is she hiding?"_

 _Zoe swiped the beer bottle from William's hand. "So long as we're killing time."_

 _William frowned as Zoe sipped up the last bit of alcohol from the bottle. "I was going to finish that."_

" _Well, they just ran out of this kind a minute ago."_

 _William crosses his arms and puts on a charming smirk. "Still, you owe me something."_

 _Zoe looked over the bar table. "Bartender! Surprise us!"_

 _Within seconds, Zoe got her hands on two more beers of a different brand. She handed one to William and raised hers up._

" _To your return to Star City."_

 _William smiles. "Hear, hear."_

 _They both clinked bottles and took a swig. The beer tasted staler, but still had some flavor in it to be decent. But William couldn't help but swallow it hard._

 _Zoe chuckled. "You clearly haven't been to a bar like this."_

" _Oh, I have." William rubbed his lips with his sleeve. "Just never for the drinks."_

" _But for doing the same business as your father?"_

 _William turned to where the voice came from, seeing John standing over Zoe. Luckily, everyone was at the cages and the bartender was in the back, so John's utterance didn't draw any attention. Still, William was a bit surprised that John was onto something._

" _Come on. Did you really think I didn't suspect you were a vigilante?" John then reached into his pocket and took something out that was concealed in his palm. He opened it, revealing the bits of destroyed tech which was William's bug. Though, it didn't look like it self-destructed. It was crushed._

 _William doesn't act all that surprised, responding with a hum. "I guess I should've checked if my bot actually self-destructed."_

" _We kept our guard up after the first few times the 'Red Arrow' sent them."_

 _Zoe leaned in a bit, smiling sarcastically. "The name's a dead giveaway."_

 _William looked to Zoe. "Well, I didn't think anyone inside Star City would put the pieces together. At least, people I knew who were alive." He then looked back at John. "And for the record, I needed to know if your organization could be trusted, given most of your members are ex ARGUS."_

 _John sat down on the chair on the other side of William. "Understandable. But knowing that I'm leading the group, do you trust us now?"_

 _William shrugged his shoulders. "I would if you told me what exactly the Mark of Four is."_

 _John nodded and rolled up his sleeve. On his arm was a tattoo William had never seen before, almost like a star in black ink. "It's a symbol your father made when he…sort of saved Star City." He pointed to the circles that were on each end of a line. "The four pillars represent courage, compassion, selflessness, and loyalty."_

 _William smirked. "Everything my father valued."_

 _John nodded. "We all got them as a reminder that no matter what trouble one of us got into, the others would always be there."_

 _William then remembered what Roy said he found on Lian Yu in his conversation with John. "And that mark in the bow…you believe that was Felicity calling for help?"_

 _John rolled his sleeve back up. "I hope so."_

 _Suddenly, William heard the cage door opening. He looked up and saw Blackstar heading towards one of the bathrooms holding her hand up to clench her possibly bloodied nose._

" _Blackstar's occupied. Now's our chance."_

 _Without delay, William, Zoe, and John head towards Blackstar's office._

* * *

William and John rush into the main room of the bunker. Curtis is on the familiar platform, shifting between the older and newer computers.

As William steps onto the ramp, he asks, "What do we have?"

"A lot!" Curtis switches windows ecstatically, showing William and John a branch of payments made under the account Max Fuller owns. "With the name you gave me, I was able to backtrack it's source and able to hack into the files. We've got everything on him. Illegal doings, hired assassin's, and…" He uses his cursor to circle around a document. "…the club he now owns before he 'bought out' himself. One of the adjustments he made were secret doors all around the club, which…" Curtis brings up a new window, bringing up a blueprint. "…I just so happened to have found."

William examines the blueprint. "Can you make a copy of this and send it to my HUD?"

"Already did. Oh, before I forget." Curtis brings up the accounts again, showing the last payment on the list. "The last payment was made to Frank Cassidy, also known as our copycat assassin—"

"The Mirror. Right."

"And the documentation in his discreet account is signed by him. Most likely, he was the only one who could access it. At least…" Curtis points to himself with a smile. "…until I came along."

John turns to William with an assuring smirk. "We got him."

William, as glad as he is that they have the evidence they need, is not totally at ease. "Even so, Fuller still sent the Mirror to kill Dad and Felicity. He's waiting for an answer and if he doesn't get it, he's going to flee."

"Agreed." Everyone turns to the ramp leading up to the platform, seeing Oliver standing there. "That's why we need to stop him."

William walks to Oliver with a reluctant look. "Dad, Mia needs you."

"She did." Oliver looks to William with a firm stare. "But right now, my son needs my help."

After a moment's hesitation, William smirks. "You missed this, didn't you?"

Oliver smirks back. "You have no idea."

William then turns to John. "Do we still have that bow confiscated from Cassidy."

John nods. "Yep. We put it with the display case in case we needed it."

"Good." William walks past Oliver but keeps his attention on them. "Let's suit up!"

Oliver and John follow suit with smirks on their faces. Curtis, who is getting William's detective vision satellite online, puts on a dopey smile. They're all feel the same thing. Despite the different name, Team Arrow is back.

* * *

Max paces back and forth impatiently, waiting for a call from the Mirror for the results of Queen's fate.

 _Come on! Ugh. I knew it! I knew hiring him again was a mistake. I should've just hired the Longbow Hunters. At least THEY know what method suits them—_

Max then hears his phone ringing. He takes a relieved breath while taking out his phone. Still, his tone when answering the phone is that of slight frustration. "Finally! Did you actually off—"

" **Max Fuller. YOU. HAVE FAILED. THIS CITY."**

The deep, intimidating voice that Clay once described as who is now the Red Arrow has reached his ear. His eyes are shot wide, his arms and legs frozen in place.

" **And now…were coming for YOU."**

The phone hangs up before Max even had a chance to respond. He wouldn't know what to say, actually. His mind is jumbled, so many thoughts running through his mind. The punishment. The consequences for this failure. His possible downfall. All he can do is let go of his phone, letting it break as it hit the floor.

After what seems like a lifetime, he lets out a whimpering cry, which he feels like is the only thing that can summarize how he feels right now.

* * *

From the rooftop, Oliver, now in the Green Arrow suit lent to him by William, can see nearly the whole exterior of the club. He feels as if he is back to 6 years ago, scouting out an area before getting ready to breach. Now, however, he has a couple of new gadgets.

He switches on the new detective vision in the eye mask, seeing his environment all in dark blue except for the silhouettes of people, who are either light blue, who are the club patrons, or red, those being Fuller's men armed to the teeth.

Green Arrow gets on the comm. "This is Green Arrow. I'm on the rooftop overlooking the building. There are about 10 armed men. One of them on the roof. You copy Spartan?"

" **Copy, Green Arrow. Head inside and wait for further instruction."**

"Got it. Green Arrow out."

Green Arrow readies a grapple arrow, waiting for the guard below him to get into range. Just as he walks just past where Green Arrow aims, he shoots the arrow. As soon as it connects, he rappels down and then leaps onto the guard, sending them both into a roll. Green Arrow gets on top and knocks the guard out with a punch.

Oliver detaches the arrow and puts it in his quiver before proceeding inside through the roof's door.

* * *

The portable base parks right outside an alleyway behind the club. Curtis, using the Wayne Tech satellite, sees Red Arrow, Spartan, and Rene exit from the van and head down into the alley.

"Okay. According to the blueprints, in the alleyway should be a secret entrance into the building."

Curtis can hear Red Arrow ask, **"Is there any keypad for it?"**

"Sure is. The blueprint says it's 4423."

" **Good."**

John, who is in his Spartan suit, is the next voice to emanate on the comm, **"I just got off the phone with Dinah. She's on her way with a couple of cop cars to create a perimeter. They're 10 seconds out."**

" **Great."** Rene, who is in his Wilddog hockey mask and sweatshirt with a Kevlar vest underneath, is seen taking out his pistol. "So, Fuller gets his ass handed to him no matter what."

Red Arrow takes his bow and takes cover next to the secret door. Spartan and Wilddog go on ahead to take the employee entrance as planned.

Spartan's voice explains, **"Remember, Fuller needs to be taken in alive. Red Arrow, you and your dad will approach from the back. Wilddog and I will take the front. Do this right, and this operation will go smoothly. Clear?"**

Red Arrow and Green Arrow both respond, "Clear."

Rene nods and slightly raises a fist. "Let's go kick Fuller's corrupt ass."

* * *

 _What do I do? What do I do?!_

In his panic, Max turns to the computer on his desk.

 _There! If I delete my secret account, even if the Ninth Circle turns it's back on me, I'll have a lighter sentence._

Max quickly rushes to his computer and switches it on. He goes into his account and clicks on it. As the screen comes up, he finds almost nothing on there. He blinks repeatedly, trying to tell himself that this cannot be happening. But it is. All his files are gone already.

On the corner of the screen, he sees one small document left. One he has never seen. He clicks on it and it opens to a message saying what the Red Arrow said just a minute ago: _"You have failed this city."_

"No. No!"

He clicks off the screen and looks at the cameras to make sure they haven't reached him yet. To his terror, he does see one. Someone in a Green Arrow suit. But this one has a somewhat clear face behind the white eyed mask. It's Oliver Queen, alive and well.

"No, no, no, no!"

In a panic, he runs from the computer and grabs a walkie talkie that puts him on the line with his men.

"Oliver Queen is coming down the stairwell! Kill him and any other vigilantes!"

* * *

Red Arrow walks down the hallway that, according to the blueprint, puts him below the hallway that leads to the rooftop stairwell. He turns on his detective vision, seeing his father head down the stairs and 6 guards about to breach the hallway.

As they entered the hallway, Red Arrow quickly gets on his comm. "Green Arrow, you're about to have company. They're in the hallway, waiting for you."

Green Arrow takes cover by the side of the exit, readying his bow. **"Can you get the jump on them?"**

"I'm working on it. Standby and be ready to breach when you see the signal."

" **What signal?"**

"Just turn on your detective vision. You'll see it."

As the guards stop, Red Arrow looks at their formation.

 _They're leaving a big gap between them. Three in front. Three behind. One of them looks like they're about to move towards the door. Dad can use him as a human shield. Most likely, he's taking note of that too. Plan: blow hole in gap, move in with grapple arrow angled towards the back group, then use smoke pellet while Dad takes the front._

Red Arrow taps a button on his gauntlet and moves through his menu until he finds the explosive arrow. He calibrates it to fit the size of the gap above him. When it looks just right, he shoots the arrow onto the ceiling. He then slips up the fabric mask he implemented that will filter the smoke from the pellet.

He looks to the guard that just moved, waiting for him to get closer to Green Arrow. _Wait…wait…NOW!_

* * *

Just as the guard is nearing the door, Green Arrow sees the signal that Red Arrow was talking about. The floor between the guards explodes, grabbing everyone's attention. Red Arrow shoots a grapple arrow at an angle that sends him towards one of the guards and tackles him to the ground. He gets up quick enough to deploy a smoke pellet, blinding the guards surrounding him and making the others unable to see him, which forces them to debate on whether to shoot blindly or not.

Green Arrow takes advantage of the situation, breaching the door and grabbing the lone guard in a choke hold. The other two guards notice this and raise their guns. However, their hands are too shaky, and they struggle to find a perfect shot while Green Arrow gets in close with the lone guard as a human shield.

When he gets in close enough, Green Arrow throws the lone guard to the guard on their left, blocking his view. Green Arrow quickly sidekicks the guard to his right, sending him to the wall. Green Arrow quickly finishes the guard off with a swing of his bow to the head. He then turns to his left, seeing the guard throwing the human shield off him. Green Arrow quickly grabs the guard's wrist to keep his gun away, employs an elbow strike to stagger him and follows it by raising the clenched arm over Green Arrow's shoulder and throws the guard over him. The guard hits the floor, the impact hard enough to knock him out.

As the smoke clears, Green Arrow sees that Red Arrow has cleared the guards on his side of the room just in time, if not faster than Green Arrow did.

Red Arrow pulls off his fabric mask and turns to Green Arrow with a grin. "You still got it."

As Oliver was about to respond, he hears a groan behind him. He realizes that he did not knock out the guard he used as a human shield. He takes out a concussion arrow, aims it without looking, and releases. He can hear the impact of the arrow on the man's head and a body falling to the floor with a groan.

Red Arrow, who was about to take out his arrow and do the same thing, scoffs. "Showoff."

Green Arrow couldn't help but smirk at the remark.

Red Arrow then turns to the door. "Come on. We still have to find Fuller."

Green Arrow follows as the two of them head in the direction the guards came from.

* * *

As amazed as Curtis was by the teamwork between father and son, his attention falls back to finding Fuller. He looks through the Wayne Tech satellite, examining the silhouettes in the club. Among the blues was one red walking through the crowd. Curtis identifies the person as Fuller with a sidearm at his hip.

"Guys. I got Fuller. He's going through the club and he's carrying."

Red Arrow's voice pierces though. **"We have eyes on. Spartan, Rene, be ready to cut him off."**

Curtis moves the satellite, seeing the green silhouettes of Red Arrow and Green Arrow overlooking the entire club area through a window. He also sees three guards coming down the stairs leading into the room.

"Green! Red! You've got…"

* * *

"… **Three bad guys coming from the stairs behind you."**

Red Arrow turns to where Curtis is talking about, seeing the three guards through his detective vision.

 _They think they can ambush us. We'll show them otherwise._

Red Arrow raises a hand to Green Arrow. "Stay there."

Red Arrow runs to the corner of the room, keeping to the wall as to not be seen prematurely. Once settled in, he waits until the guards come in and take position with their guns armed. They both then aim and fire their arrows, taking down two of them at once. The last guard doesn't know which direction to shoot first, giving Red Arrow ample time to take and throw his gun away.

Red Arrow then grabs the guard and sticks a special grapple arrow, with one grapple on each side, to the guard's shirt. Red Arrow then proceeds to attach one end of the grapple to the wall above the window, which he then throws the guard out of as he pleads for him not to.

* * *

As Max makes his way out of the club as fast as he can, he hears glass breaking behind him. He turns around and sees one of his guards hanging by his shirt like an ornament. Jumping down from the window is Oliver Queen, followed by the self-named Red Arrow, who then walk towards him.

Max picks up the pace. But as he turns around, he sees two more vigilantes coming from the front entrance. He can't tell who the armored one is but knows the one in the hockey mask. The man who was coerced to testified against Oliver Queen.

 _What do I do now?! I need…I need a bargaining chip!_

Max quickly grabs a girl from the crowd, one arm around her neck while the other hand grabs his gun and aims it at her head. She starts to scream, which only makes him more tense. He places the gun closer to her head to try to make her be quiet, which works. She now only breaths heavily.

As the vigilantes get closer, Max yells, "Stay back!"

Oliver steps closer, aiming his bow and arrow. "Put the gun down Max!"

"I'll kill her Oliver! I'll do it! I SWEAR!"

Oliver's intense stare doesn't waver. "Hiring someone to use a gun is one thing Max. Pulling the trigger yourself…" Oliver releases the bow string, the arrow zooming faster than Max can process. Before he knows it, the arrow hits his gun, forcing him to let it go. "…is something else entirely."

The woman quickly escapes Max's grasp and runs, prompting the vigilantes to move in on him. Seeing no other option, Max freezes in place. The armored vigilante takes Max's hands and cuffs them behind his back.

"Max Fuller, you are under arrest for the attempted murders of Clayton Ford and Sam Hutchinson, among many other crimes you've committed."

As Max is led to the exit, he looks at the crowd, their cell phones out, snapping photos and recording footage. No doubt, they were more interested in recording Queen in his Green Arrow costume than himself being arrested. Still, Max bows his head to hide his shame. He is ruined. Everything on him is known. His connections with the Ninth Circle will no doubt cease to keep their order underground. He is defeated. Disposable. As all those who failed the Ninth Circle are.

* * *

Not able to sharpen her arrows. No contact with the Ninth Circle or the Deacon. Not even a glimpse of the outside world with a TV. All Emiko can see is the dark hallway in front of her, which no doubt has other cells. The only activity she can do is physical exercise, like the pushups that she is doing right now. Her feet hang from the bed, allowing her exert less energy.

However, as she pushes up, her eyes catch a glimpse of a pair of green boots. She brings her feet to the ground, brings her knees to her chest, and slowly stands up. She begins to see a face that she hoped to never see. The face of another Queen. The face of Oliver.

Oliver doesn't say anything. He just looks at her. Looking at his eyes, Emiko can see guilt. Whatever guilt Oliver feels, she doesn't care. She knows that him being here and not interrogating her means only one thing.

"How much do you know?"

Oliver takes a deep breath. "Everything."

Emiko crosses her arms. "No. You don't. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"What I DO know…is that YOU are my sister. My family."

"We are NOT family!" Emiko slams the cell door with her fist. "A real family doesn't push each other away!"

Oliver shakes his head. "I didn't do that!"

"But Dad did!"

"I know!" Oliver steps closer, his gaze more sympathetic. "I know that he left you and your mother behind. I know that he hasn't been there for you when you needed him most. But he DID care about you. He supported you and your mother for years."

"He rejected me! When I got old enough to meet him, I asked him to acknowledge me as part of the family. But he said NO! He said it was for my own protection, but I knew the truth. It was so the media didn't know he had a…BASTARD CHILD!"

"Emiko! Listen to me." Oliver places a hand on the cell door. "I will NOT make that same mistake. I won't push you away. I want to let you in." Oliver takes the hand away and reaches into his pocket. He unfolds a piece of paper and puts it on the cell door for Emiko to see. "And I want to start with this."

Emiko looks at the paper closely. She skims most of the content except one part. Her eyes widen as she reads it again and again, making sure it is not forged.

"This is—"

"A payment made by Max Fuller to John Cortez, Jason Stent, and William Glenmorgan. He hired them for someone else, but it's proof that someone in the Ninth Circle wanted your mother dead."

Emiko steps away, shaking her head. She sits in her bed and places her hands on her head as she shakes it still, trying to process this information.

 _That's impossible! It…it can't be!_

"Emiko. Emiko!"

She brings her head up, but only a bit. Her eyes look up to Oliver again.

"I will help you find the person who ordered your mother's death. THAT is a promise. But I can't get you out of this cell. Not yet. You need to show everyone that you can be trusted."

Emiko doesn't stand up. She just thinks. She feels that all she can do is think.

Oliver takes the document away and folds it up. "I'll give you time to be alone. Goodbye Emiko."

As Oliver starts to take a step away, Emiko blurts out "Wait!"

She doesn't know why she just said that. No. She knows why. She's been looking for a lead all year and this is the best bet she has. She's not going to let this slip away. She started this puzzle and she is not going to stop putting the pieces together. Even if that meant betraying some of the Ninth Circle's secrets.

She takes a deep breath and stands up.

"What do you want to know?"

* * *

" **Breaking news tonight as footage of Max Fuller being arrested by vigilantes is being leaked by multiple witnesses. Among them was the new vigilante who took down Ricardo Diaz just a week—"**

"How's my half-sister doing?"

Mia and Felicity look away from the TV monitor and towards the door, seeing William in his Red Arrow suit minus the mask. He leans on the doorway with a grin, though Mia can't tell whether it's because he is happy to see her or is trying to save face for putting her in handcuffs.

Either way, Mia sarcastically smirks. "Doing better now that I'm not CONFINED to the bed."

William bows his head, but still keeps the smirk. "Okay. I kind of deserve that." He then walks into the room, looking back up to them. "But we both knew you would've tried to escape."

Mia, after a little while, nods her head. "Yeah. You're right."

Felicity points to the TV screen. "You guys have been blowing up on TV."

William turns around in time to hear the news anchor say, **"The more talked about topic of this event is the presence of Oliver Queen as the Green Arrow. Questions now arise if he is, in fact, putting on the hood again."**

Mia, noticing that Oliver is not here, asks, "Where's Dad?"

"He's…taking care of something. In the meantime…" William places a bottle of whisky and a few glasses, which Mia did not notice was in his hand, onto the table. "We celebrate."

Felicity tilts her head a bit. "Shouldn't we wait on the others?"

William starts to pour whisky into three glasses. "John, Dinah, and Lyla are talking with the Mayor to explain the situation, Curtis is going through tons of files from Fuller's computer, and Rene is laying low until things get sorted out." He stretches out a glass to them both. "So, they didn't want us to wait on them."

Mia doesn't hesitate to take the glass from William. After a while, Felicity shrugs her shoulders and takes the glass. She sniffs it and cringes just a bit but tries her best not to show it.

William raises his glass. "To Knightwatch's FIRST successful operation!"

"And to many more!"Suddenly, Oliver walks into the room, still wearing his Green Arrow suit. William was about to pour more whisky, but Oliver raises a hand. "Please. Let me do it."

Oliver pours the whisky and takes up the glass. Before he takes a sip, he looks at Mia with a concerned glare. "Are you sure you're at the age to drink?"

Mia can't help but rebuke at Oliver's fussing. "Dad!"

Felicity chuckles, but William puts a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Dad, she's fine."

Oliver shrugs the hand away. "I just…wanted to be sure."

At last, they all take a sip from their glasses. The taste is strong, though they all manage to swallow it down. Felicity is the only one who swallows it hard.

"Oh…God! This is why I never drank whisky."

Everyone, including Mia, chuckles at Felicity's expense.

William changes the subject. "So, Dad. How did the talk with Aunt Emiko go?"

"It went…more well than I imagined. She answered your question."

William's eyes grow wide. "And? Was I right?"

Oliver nods his head. "They have an informant from the future. And he's still here. Most likely, he's with the Deacon."

"Wait, wait." Mia holds up a hand, her brows furrowing. "What do you mean future informant? I was the one who revealed you guys being in New Haven."

William nods. "You did. But I never told you about me running away from Cambridge. It had to be someone who was there to witness it." William turns back to Oliver with a stare. "Did she give you a name."

Oliver nods. "It's not a real name, but it's something to go on at least. She called him…Chimera."

* * *

 _John slowly walked up the stairs, aiming his pistol towards the top of them. As he got closer to the top, able to see the room, he looked left and right to see if there was anyone else around. When he was done, he looked to William and Zoe, who were right below him._

" _We're clear."_

 _The three of them made it to the top of the stairs. William ran to the desk where he saw Blackstar rummage through while John and Zoe waited by the stairs. William opened the drawer and looked inside. Peculiarly, it looked empty. But William knew that meant there had to be a secret compartment inside._

 _He stuck his hand inside and felt the inside for any loose wood. When his hand touched the top part, he found something he could tug at. He pulled it down and out of the drawer. Inside of the little compartment was blue paper signifying a blueprint. He took it out, finding a smart phone underneath. William took note to place a bug in there for later._

 _He opened the blueprint up and looked at the contents. He found what looked like a map of Star City and the Glades, with marks on certain buildings. Seeing this and remembering what Blackstar said about getting bomb parts made his eyes bulge._

" _Guys! I found something."_

 _John and Zoe hurry to where William was, who laid the blueprint on the table for them to see. While they looked at it, he took out one of his mechanical bugs and used its USB function to connect to the phone._

 _John's eyes didn't widen as William's did, but his finger tapped the desk rapidly. "Could these be potential targets to place a bomb? Is that what Felicity was forced to make?"_

 _William, seeing that the bug was planted inside the phone's systems, unplugs it and puts the phone back into the compartment. "Either that, or Felicity made the bomb to stop whatever it was she did make. Blackstar just doesn't know where it is."_

 _Zoe looked up from the document with a serious stare. "Either way, Felicity is still risking people's lives! We need to warn someone."_

 _William took the blueprint and folded it to place back into the compartment. "And who exactly do we warn?" With both items back in the compartment, he placed it back into the drawer and pushed it back up the place he found it. "Most people here, if not all, hate vigilantes or are criminals. They won't be privy to help."_

 _Zoe shook her head. "One person does. Someone whose heart is to Star City and the Glades."_

 _William took a moment to think about the person Zoe was referring to._

 _John, however, asked for him. "You don't mean…?"_

 _Zoe nodded. "We have to tell my dad."_

* * *

Dante walks through the hallway in his robe and demon mask, prepping the speech in his mind. Though, he doesn't even know if words will even cover the devastation of the past week. Fuller, Clayborn, and Hutchinson captured, their secrets being divulged to ARGUS, and now the Deacon on the loose. But he has prepared for this. He knows who to put the blame for all of this on. Though, will they even believe him?

 _No matter. If I stay in silence for too long, they will lose faith. I need to show them I am more than capable of handling the Deacon and the vigilantes. I AM capable._

Dante then opens the doors to the meeting room, seeing…

* * *

…all of his children, found on the streets, boarding schools, and orphanages. The children he trained and conditioned from childhood, now the most feared killers. Seeing how loyal they are as to betray the traitor Dante, to leave that cult the Deacon so despised for their want of control. It puts a smile on his face. He will not miss his demon mask. Though it showed what he had become, it was not what he wanted to aspire to.

He looked at his new mask. His helm. The helm of the crusader marked with crimson crosses on the cheeks. He puts it on and turns on the voice filter, ready to give his speech.

"My children! Though we may be few, though we have been casted out of an order that many of you have grown up with for most of your lives…I thank you for your…"

* * *

"…Loyalty. For rooting out the TRAITOROUS Deacon."

Dante looks at the other members in the room wearing their robes and demon masks. He cannot tell how they are feeling but hopes that they will rally to him at the end of this speech.

"As you all know, he has been found to have been the one who…DEPRIVED us of our recruits from Level 2. His…stubbornness to face his failures with grace is the reason we are in this position. HE is the one responsible for our failed attempts to silence the traitors! He is the one who set Max Fuller up to fall! And…"

* * *

"…HE had the audacity to cast all the blame on me! The man who raised him like a son! If it weren't for the information of Chimera, none of us would be here tonight."

The Deacon extends a hand towards Chimera, who is at his side with his hands behind his back.

"Chimera has given us this chance to retreat. To regroup. And SOON…to retaliate! His betrayal…"

* * *

"…will not stand! We will work to build ourselves up again, so that we may bring the world into an age of order and control!"

* * *

"So that we can prime the world for the apocalypse it deserves! And we will start…"

* * *

"…with Star City! Make no mistake, the war we will embark on is not just a war of physical strength or an arsenal of weapons. It is a test of your faith! Your faith in God…and in me! And we will be fighting on 2 fronts! Make no mistake, these vigilantes may have won the first battle."

* * *

"But this…War of FAITH has just begun!"

* * *

"But first…I must test your faith. For the fate of the universe hangs in the balance…and weighs on you, Chosen. You…and all of the heroes in the multiverse."

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Hello readers! Thank you so much for reading this. This has been such a blast to write and I am glad for all the favorites, follows, and reviews I have been getting along the way.

So, let's talk about the future of my stories. After much consideration, I have decided that the best course of action is to make this the final chapter, making this story part 1 of an ongoing series of Fanfictions spanning from this one. So, my next story is going to be my take on the Elseworlds crossover, which will be called "Elseworlds: The Chosen." This is going to be a crossover fanfiction, since it will involve multiple CW shows. This one, however, is going to be in a shorter chapter format, which means less time to wait for more chapters.

Since it is going to be a crossover story and not just an Arrow story, I would recommend putting me into your author alert subscription, so you don't miss the first chapter upon release. Expect the first chapter sometime in January since I will take December off for Christmas.

Anyways, please favorite the chapter and story if you did, leave a review, and, if you want to, please share this with anyone you think will like it.

Again, thank you for reading this and thank you to those who have read this story to the end. Have a great day and I will see you all in "Elseworlds: The Chosen" in January!


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